Olympian Dominique Moceanu praises Simone Biles with heartbreaking story of her own injury at 14

Following Simone Biles' surprising withdrawal from both Tuesday's women's gymnastics team final and Thursday's individual all-around, former 'Magnificent 7' gymnast and Olympian Dominique Moceanu shared her support for Biles' decision — a choice Moceanu said she would have never been free enough to make.

"[Simone Biles'] decision demonstrates that we have a say in our own health," Moceanu tweeted alongside video of an almost-devastating tumble she took during the 1996 Atlanta Games. Despite a "tibial stress fracture" and "no cervical spine exam," Moceanu still competed in the floor final "minutes later" because she didn't feel she had the agency not to.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.