Simone Biles has moved past Tokyo. If critics can’t, she says that’s their problem, not hers

Simone Biles has spent the last three years moving past the Tokyo Olympics.

The gymnastics superstar understands not everyone has.

No matter how many national titles she wins or how times she stands atop the podium at the world championships, Biles knows she remains frozen in time to critics unwilling or unable to forgive her for pulling out of multiple finals at the 2020 Games to protect herself.

The proof is in her mentions, the ones she says she tries to ignore but still stumbles across anyway.

The 27-year-old wants to make something clear as she prepares for a third trip to the Olympics: the redemption she is seeking later this month has nothing to do with silencing those who will tune in just to see if “the twisties” resurface. Mostly because she knows there’s no use.

“They’ll still say like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re going to quit again? Or are you going to quit again?’ And like, and ‘If I did, what are you going to do about it? Tweet me some more?’” Biles said after winning the Olympic trials last month. “Like I’ve already dealt with it for three years. But yeah, they want to see us fail.”