When most people get kidney stones, they’re usually bedridden and suffering from extreme pain. When gymnast Simone Biles gets kidney stones, she puts treatment on hold to help her team land the top spot in the world championships.
Less than 24 hours after spending most of the night in the ER, Biles led Team USA to first place at the 48th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar, securing a spot in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
READ: USA women’s gymnastics wins team title at world championships
The win was the largest point victory by a US team at a world championships so far.
Biles had the highest individual scores for beam, vault and floor events, and the second-highest score on uneven bars.
Oh, and she had a vault named after her.
“The kidney stone can wait,” she said on Twitter. “Doing it for my team.”
Just a spoonful of adrenaline
“I’ve been having stomach pains like on my right side for two days,” Biles said in an interview. “We got tests done just to see what it was, and then they found a kidney stone.”
But she didn’t have the stone removed. After the diagnosis, the four-time Olympic gold medalist decided instead to deal with the problem after the championships.
“Fingers crossed it stays okay,” she posted before competing.
What kept her going through the pain? Biles said it was the excitement.
“The adrenaline definitely helped because even when I’m walking or doing some stretches, I’m in a bit of pain,” she said. “So adrenaline helps.”
