Simone Biles Encourages Fellow Olympian in Sweet Interview—and We Could All Take Her Advice

The Olympic games officially kick off in Milan on February 6, and athletes around the world are preparing to dare for gold. One contender is Mikaela Shiffrin, who is arguably one of the world's greatest skiers of all time. Shiffrin is also the host of the podcast What's the Point, where she invites fellow athletes to come talk about life beyond sports. One of her recent guests was Simone Biles, and the two had a heart-to-heart as Shiffrin shared her anxieties heading to Italy.

In one of several clips shared to the podcast's Instagram page, Shiffrin confides to Biles: "I would love to get to the point where I'm going [to Milan]—maybe it's not going to be totally comfortable, but to be able to imagine Cortina in a more optimistic light." She asks the gymnastic champ how and if she ever achieved a mental quietude amidst the solitude of intense pressure—and Biles had the best answer.

On her Paris experience, she said, "I just did what I knew was right. In the end, whatever the picture was going to be, it was going to write itself. The success I had in Paris, I put in as much mental work as I did physical. I knew I was so mentally ready that nothing could stop me."

Biles also had encouragement for Shiffrin that extends to everyone chasing something they love.

"At the end of the day, [it's] truly for you. If you're skiing out of love and out of passion, then you're going to be successful. You can't ski for anyone other than little Mikaela that started because she loved it."

Shiffrin is widely considered to be the greatest alpine skier ever, with a record number of World Cup wins and two Olympic golds—one of which also gave her the title of youngest slalom gold medalist in Olympic history. At this year's games, she will compete in the alpine skiing events at Cortina d’Ampezzo that include giant slalom, slalom and team events.