Michael Phelps Says His ‘Heart Broke’ for Simone Biles: We Carry ‘A Lot of Weight on Our Shoulders’

Michael Phelps understands the pressure that was placed on Simone Biles heading into the Tokyo Games. With Phelps and Usain Bolt both retired, Biles has become the face of the Olympics.

Joining Mike Tirico on NBC, Phelps discussed Biles’ decision to withdraw from Tuesday’s team gymnastics event and the mental toll of entering the Olympic Games with immense expectations.

“The Olympics is overwhelming. There are a lot of emotions that go into it. I can talk about this for an hour,” Phelps told Tirico. “The easiest way for me to say it is I think athletes and Olympic athletes in general, we need someone who we can trust. Somebody that can let us be ourselves and listen. Allow us to become vulnerable. Somebody who is not gonna try and fix us. We carry a lot of things, a lot of weight on our shoulders. And it’s challenging, especially when we have the lights on us and all the expectations that are being thrown on top of us. It broke my heart.”

Without Biles, the US went on to earn the silver medal in the Team Gymnastics event. Biles has also since withdrawn from Thursday’s individual all-around final. She has not pulled out of next week’s individual finals yet.

“I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard,” Biles posted on Instagram after withdrawing on Tuesday. “The Olympics is no joke!”

Phelps can relate, and he’s similarly been vocal about the importance of mental health, noting that he hopes this is an “eye-opening experience” to make it a bigger conversation.

“We’re human beings, nobody is perfect. It is OK to not be OK. It’s OK to go through ups and downs and emotional roller coasters,” Phelps said. “I felt like I was carrying, as Simone said, the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s a tough situation.”

Watch above via NBC

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