Simone Biles Rises Again: From Health Crisis to Sun-Soaked Resilience

There’s a particular kind of strength that comes from surviving the unsurvivable. For Simone Biles, that strength isn’t abstract—it’s inked across her chest in four words that have defined her entire trajectory: And still I rise.

The 29-year-old gymnast shared that message with the world on Sunday, June 14, posting a sun-soaked bikini photo that showcased her Maya Angelou-inspired tattoo while she recovered from what she’d described days earlier as nearly costing her life. In a June 6 Instagram post, Biles had been blunt about the scare: almost dying wasn’t on her bingo card that week. She’d been hospitalized, and her husband, Jonathan Owens, was out of town when it happened. While she didn’t reveal specifics of the health crisis, she shared a photo of her hospital bracelets and a monitor reading her heart rate—a visual reminder that this wasn’t hyperbole.

By mid-June, though, Biles was back to doing what she does best: showing up. The black bandeau bikini, the diamond chain, the Fendi sunglasses—these weren’t just fashion choices. They were proof of presence. In her Netflix series Simone Biles Rising, she’d explained why that tattoo matters so much:“I always rise to the occasion, and after all of the traumas and downfalls, I’ve always risen.”She wasn’t speaking metaphorically. Her career and life story have been defined by comebacks—from the mental health battles she’s opened up about, to injuries, to public scrutiny that would’ve derailed most people. This health scare was just another chapter.

What’s striking isn’t just that she recovered quickly enough to post a poolside photo. It’s that she chose to share it at all. In a culture obsessed with curated wellness narratives, Biles has always been refreshingly direct. She doesn’t hide the hard parts. She acknowledges them, processes them, and then she rises. That’s not just a tattoo. That’s her brand, and honestly, that’s her superpower.

The woman who married Indianapolis Colts player Jonathan Owens in April 2023 after they connected on dating app Raya in 2020 is still the same person who’s pushed the sport of gymnastics forward while refusing to pretend everything is fine when it isn’t. This moment—the hospitalization, the recovery, the sun-soaked comeback—feels like the latest verse in a song that’s been playing since she first stepped onto a mat.