Johnathan Walker: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,Johnathan Walker 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.

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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.

"I think she needed to come back for herself," said Walsh, who is directing the project, "to really just prove to herself that she can do it under those circumstances."

Walsh said she benefited from having a prior relationship with Biles, who will be heavily favored to win multiple gold medals in Paris. Before "Rising," Walsh served as the supervising producer on another docuseries about Biles called "Simone vs. Herself," which covered some of the same ground − including Biles' performance in Tokyo. Both of the series were produced by Religion of Sports.

Walsh said her goal with "Rising" wasn't to do anything different than her past Biles' docuseries, but rather double-down on the filming and interviewing approaches that had worked during the COVID-19 pandemic − and give Biles the space and freedom to continue telling her story.

"My whole approach with this film was that there’s this idea of the way the outside world looks in at her, and then there’s the way that she’s experiencing the world that’s around her," Walsh said. "Sometimes those things align. Sometimes she is the GOAT, and we see the GOAT. And sometimes we see the GOAT, and she feels insecure. And sometimes you see just this one side of her, and we get to see these other sides of her."

Walsh said the decision to pursue the project "came down to the last minute" as Biles weighed whether she was ready to share more of her story from Tokyo and the 732-day layoff that followed. Filming didn't begin until late September, just before the 2023 world championships where Biles won four golds, including in the all-around and team competitions.

The 27-year-old sat for two lengthy interviews over the winter, Walsh said, "plus lots of little ones" − including an hour-long session during the week of the U.S. Olympic trials. The director praised Biles for her candor and said they worked together to address particularly challenging subjects − such as Biles being a survivor of sexual abuse and some of her trauma from Tokyo − on Biles' timeline and at her discretion.

"It takes a lot. It’s emotionally taxing to go back to all these things," Walsh said. "If somebody were constantly bringing up these traumatic experiences in your life and asking you about them, it just emotionally takes a lot. So I’m aware of that."

While covering the expected topics, like Biles' return to competition and preparation for Paris, the docuseries also shows her life away from the sport, including her marriage and relationship with NFL player Jonathan Owens. Walsh thought it was important, for Biles personally and the project generally, to try to capture all the different sides of the world's top gymnast − portraying her not just as "the GOAT" but "a well-rounded human being."

Walsh said Biles would not see any of the episodes before they were released on Netflix. When asked if it is important to her that Biles likes the series, Walsh said she hopes that it will feel "authentic to her."

"I don’t think I put this together with the idea of, 'is Simone going to like this?' " Walsh said. "I think as long as I stay true to her and her story, I think that’s what’s most important. But I’m always thoughtful about her feelings. ... I'm just trying to create a space for her to be her. I’m not trying to create a narrative for her. She should be the one that is leading the charge on who she is and how her life is."

Walsh didn't offer any specific predictions on how Biles will perform at the Paris Olympics, which begin July 26, nor whether Biles will choose to retire from competitive gymnastics afterwards.

"I’ve joked many times that I will gladly babysit if she wants to compete in 2028," the director said, with a grin. "I hope whatever she decides to do, it’s on her terms and that she feels really happy with these next steps that she takes moving forward."

Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.