Simone Biles documentary director talks working with the GOAT, why she came back, more

When Simone Biles withdrew from the gymnastics

team final at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, filmmaker Katie Walsh was at the Biles’ family home in Texas, capturing footage of what was expected to be another celebratory moment for the iconic American gymnast.

Instead, she and her crew filmed Biles’ mother, Nellie, receiving a phone call from her daughter in Japan, explaining that she was about to withdraw from the competition due to a bout of the “twisties.”

“When I look back now, I can start to see the cracks,” said Walsh, who had been filming Biles since 2019. “But I had not heard of the twisties. … I was not prepared for that.”

Though Walsh said she was as stunned as everybody else by Biles’ withdrawal in Tokyo, and subsequent hiatus from competitive gymnastics, she also said she had a hunch about what would come next: Biles’ return in 2023.

That comeback is the focal point of “Simone Biles: Rising,” a four-episode docuseries on Netflix that also will follow Biles through the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

The first two episodes of the series debuted Wednesday, while the third and fourth episodes are still being produced and will be released after the Games.