The Netflix docuseries "Simone Biles: Rising" provides an in-depth look into the life of Simone Biles.

The critically acclaimed docuseries has received mixed reviews, with a perfect 100% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes but a lower 43% audience score. The docuseries director, Katie Walsh, wanted to showcase Biles as a full human, not just an unbeatable gymnast, and had an established relationship with Biles before creating the docuseries, allowing deeper insights into her life.

The series includes discussions on the evolution of harsh attitudes in gymnastics, featuring voices like Dominique Dawes and Betty Okino.

Simone Biles experienced "the twisties," a disorienting sensation causing a mental block during twisting moves, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, leading her to withdraw from the competition. The docuseries explores her public crisis, capturing her mental health struggles, emotional breakdown, and struggles in returning to competition.

She has a record of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals and has had new moves named after her for her pioneering performances.

Biles rose to become a household name and one of the best gymnasts of her generation, with a massive social media presence, including millions of followers and her own set of emojis called "Simoji."

Her estimated net worth of $16 million comes primarily from sponsorships, endorsements, and brand partnerships with companies like Athleta and Nike.

The athlete testified before the U.S. Senate about the sexual abuse she and her teammates suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar and the failure of the FBI's investigation. In the docuseries, Biles connects her "twisties" in Tokyo to a trauma response from the abuse she endured, speculating that her delayed trauma response affected her Tokyo performance.

The docuseries provides intimate access to Biles' life, interviews, and competition footage.

Biles won the Olympic American trials, becoming the oldest female gymnast sent to the Olympics since the 1950s.

The final two episodes of the series will focus on Biles during the Olympic Games in Paris, showing her journey in real-time and behind the scenes.

Sources: Slate, Forbes, USA Today, EssentiallySports, BGR, Sportskeeda, Chicago Tribune, TheWrap, Screen Rant, Olympics.com, Decider, SFGATE, Salon.

This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.

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The former coach of the Israeli national rhythmic gymnastics team, Ira Vigdorchik, has been appointed coach of the Russian squad and will prepare it for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Vigdorchik, 57, is already in Moscow, having signed a contract with Irina Viner, head coach of the Russian national team and president of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation.

Having drawn conclusions from last summer's performances at the Tokyo Olympics, in which the Russian national team came in second after Bulgaria, Viner decided that Vigdorchik was best suited for restoring the Russia's standing in the industry.

Russia perceived the silver medal as a great failure, especially since in the individual event, Russian gymnast Dina Averina also came in second after Israel's Linoy Ashram.

Ashram's victory caused opposition from Russia, which reached even the government halls in Moscow, with a condemnation issued by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

For Vigdorchik, who led the Israeli gymnastics team to 6th place in the finals in Tokyo, this is a prestigious appointment.

In Israel, she was let go following the Tokyo Olympics due to a strained relationship with team members and controversial remarks.

Next year, Israel is slated to host the European Rhythmic Gymnastics in Tel Aviv, at which the Russian team under Vigdorchik is scheduled to compete.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation said in a statement, "We thank Ira for her contribution over the years and wish her success in the future."

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I learned two things watching rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram receive her gold medal. I suddenly realized what it feels like for those watching the competitions, including the one I took part in, at home. The excitement was immense. I admit, at times, I felt more nervous than I did during my own performance, so much so that I held my breath while waiting to learn Russian gymnast's Dina Averina's score and the color of Ashram's medal.

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The other thing I learned while watching Saturday's competitions is that hard work brings results. Although Russia has dominated Ashram's field, it was an Israeli gymnast that moved us and the entire country, filling Israelis with joy and proving the sky is the limit.

From the moment the final score determined Ashram would take home the gold medal, the joy that took over me knew no limits. I congratulate Ashram on her achievement. I am so happy for her and her coach Ayelet Zussman, whose role, along with that of the Israeli Gymnastics Federation in going from zero medals to two – both of them gold – at the Tokyo Olympics. It's hard to describe in words what this achievement means for the federation. Who would have thought Israel would win two gold medals?!

I hope Ashram enjoys the medal and everything that comes with it. Having had an opportunity to get to know her much better after spending time with her at press junkets and at the gym last year, the fact that she was the one to take home gold makes me particularly happy. I assume and hope Israeli gymnastics makes the most of these two medals and that this is only the beginning of a long tradition of great achievements in gymnastics on a global scale.

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The Russian Olympic Commitee lashed out at Olympic judges on Saturday after unsuccessfully challenging the results of the gymnastics final which saw Israel's Linoy Ashram edge out three-time world champion Dina Averina ending two decades of Russian hegemony in rhythmic gymnastics.

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The committee accused the judges of "unjust scoring," which, they claimed, undeservedly favored the Israeli athlete.

"The situation is surreal," Irina Viner-Usmanova, head of the All-Russian Federation of Rhythmic Gymnastics, said. "Is everyone tired of Russia winning all the gold? It seems that way.

"We had a more or less worthy opponent, but that is all. The girl from Israel received the same score in the finals as in Friday's qualifiers even though in the finals she made such a huge mistake," Viner-Usmanova said, referring to Ashram dropping her ribbon in an otherwise flawless routine.

The committee tried to appeal the scores several times, including for Averina's final routine, but was rebuffed each time.

The loss hit such a sore spot for Russia that not even lawmakers could help get involved in the matter.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova took to social media to lament what she claimed was a conspiracy against Russian athletes.

"The bastards who started the Russophobic war against sports just couldn't allow Russia to win. That is why we saw injustice on the world stage," she wrote.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin joined in, as well.

"I think everyone who watched the competition today [Saturday] has a lot of questions about [the fairness of] the judges. It is no coincidence that many appeals were filed today against their decisions by athletes from various countries. Dina Avrina is a true champion, and she deserves a gold medal."

President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov told the media he would not turn a blind eye to the "injustice."

"I'm already preparing an official appeal to the International Gymnastics Federation and the Technical Committee. We will do our best to ensure that the inquiry is conducted with transparency, and will publish the results."

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A tearful Averina also lamented not winning a gold medal.

"I don't feel that it was fair today, and it was obvious for me from the very first routine for which I got a lower score," she said to reporters. "I can't spot any obvious mistake that I made. I was pretty consistent, compared to Linoy, who failed to catch her ribbon."

Ashram's victory represents the first time a Russian rhythmic gymnast failed to win the event since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. They have won gold in 12 of the past 14 world championships.

One of the two times they missed out was in 2001, when Alina Kabaeva was stripped of her title after testing positive for a banned diuretic. Over the years, Russia has found itself in the midst of a number of doping scandals.

On Sunday, Bulgaria's perfect co-ordination helped them bag gold in the rhythmic gymnastics group event at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.

In the two rotations − five balls; three hoops and two clubs − Bulgaria scored 92.100 points, weighted towards the first round.

The Russian Olympic Committee scored 90.700 points overall, taking silver, while Italy won the bronze with 87.700 points. Russian athletes are competing under the ROC flag in Tokyo as part of sanctions for doping scandals.

i24NEWS and Reuters contributed to this report. 

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Fans will be banned from Tokyo-area stadiums and arenas when the Olympics begin in two weeks, the city's governor said Thursday after meeting with organizers of the pandemic-postponed games.

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That means the Olympics will be a largely TV-only event, after the Japanese government put the capital under a COVID-19 state of emergency because of rising new infections and the highly contagious delta variant.

The declaration was made by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and the spectator ban was agreed to by Japanese Olympic organizers, the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, and the metropolitan government of Tokyo.

It was a serious blow for Japanese taxpayers and local organizers of the games, which already had been postponed from 2020 by the coronavirus. Hundreds of millions of dollars in ticket revenue will be lost, and that must be made up by the government. Fans also have endured months of uncertainty about whether the Olympics will go ahead.

"Many people were looking forward to watching the games at the venues, but I would like everyone to fully enjoy watching the games on TV at home," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said after the meeting. "It's gut-wrenching because many people looked forward to watching at the venues."

Fans from abroad were banned months ago, and the new measures will mean no spectators in stadiums and arenas around Tokyo – both indoor and outdoor venues.

The ban covers Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures – Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. A smattering of events in outlying areas, like baseball in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima, will allow a limited number of fans.

The state of emergency begins July 12 and runs through Aug. 22. The Olympics, which open July 23 and run through Aug. 8, fall entirely under the emergency period, while the Paralympics open Aug. 24.

"Taking into consideration the impact of the delta strain, and in order to prevent the resurgence of infections from spreading across the country, we need to step up virus prevention measures," Suga said.

In principle, the July 23 opening ceremony at the new $1.4 billion National Stadium will be without paying fans, although some dignitaries, sponsors, IOC officials and others will be allowed to attend.

"We will have to review the situation about the dignitaries and stakeholders," organizing committee President Seiko Hashimoto said of the opening ceremony.

"No fans was a very difficult decision," she added.

Hashimoto acknowledged some regrets, particularly about the decision coming so late.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach delivered a message of encouragement to the athletes, saying, "It was a decision which was necessary to ensure safe Olympic Games and this is why the IOC and the IPC both supported this decision. I hope we all agree that the most important thing is that these Olympic Games are happening – that you can make your Olympic dream come true.

"You need not feel alone in these stadia. Billions of people around the entire globe will be glued to their screens, and they will be with you in their hearts," he added. "I hope that you can feel this support from all these people, who are your true fans, who are your family, your friends and your supporters."

On Saturday, two more prefectures outside the immediate Tokyo area have decided to bar fans from attending Olympic events because of rising coronavirus infections.

Fukushima prefecture in northeastern Japan has decided to hold its baseball and softball events without spectators. It has been joined by the northern prefecture of Hokkaido, which will hold soccer games without fans at the Sapporo Dome.

"Many people including children have been looking forward to the games, and I'm very sorry to take away their chance of watching baseball and softball at the stadium," Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori said Saturday. "It was a very tough decision to make."

Fukushima was the early focus of the Olympics, trying to shine a light on recovery efforts in an area devastated in 2011 by an earthquake, tsunami, and the subsequent meltdown of three nuclear reactors.

Uchibori said the move by Hokkaido on Friday encouraged him to follow suit. He said it was important to have consistency among prefectures.

A few other events being held in the outlying prefectures of Miyagi, Shizuoka and Ibaraki will go ahead with limited spectators, organizers said Saturday.

Also on Saturday, about 40 people staged a small anti-Olympic protest outside the five-star hotel where he is self-isolating after arriving in Tokyo on Thursday.

"He [Bach] seems not to have thought anything about our critical situation and suffering, which makes me more angry," protester Ayako Yoshida said.

Polls have shown between 50%-80% of Japanese oppose holding the Olympics, depending on how the question is phrased. But opponents have failed to martial large turnouts in the streets.

Protesters carried a sign in English that read "Cancel the Tokyo Olympics" and one that had a red line drawn through the face of Bach and was captioned: "You Are Not Welcome."

Tokyo registered 950 new infections on Saturday, the 21st straight day that infections were higher than a week previous. It was the highest since 1,010 were reported on May 13.

Japan has attributed about 15,000 deaths to COVID-19 with 16.8% of the population fully vaccinated. The pandemic has not been as severe in Japan as other places, but the country has not performed as well as some of its Asian neighbors.

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In March 2020, the global coronavirus pandemic made history of a different kind: it became the first non-conflict-related reason for suspending the Olympic Games, which were slated to be held in Tokyo from July 24 to Aug. 9, 2020.

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The last time the Olympic Games were canceled was during World War II. The 1940 Games were scheduled to be held in Japan, but it forfeited its rights in 1937 when it went to war with China. The Summer Olympics were initially relocated to Helsinki, Finland, with the Winter Games set to take place in the German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but both were canceled following Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939.

Japan eventually hosted that 1964 Summer Olympics and on Sept. 7, 2013, Tokyo won its bid in the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires to again host the games.

Japan was all in, investing some $15.4 billion in staging the games.

And then came COVID-19.

Countries began informing the International Olympic Committee that they would not be sending their athletes to Japan in the midst of a pandemic, and the virus forced preparation to grind to a near-halt.

On March 24, 2020, the IOC, following consultations with the World Health Organization and the Japanese government, announced that it was postponing the games, now set to be held between July 23 and Aug. 8, 2021.

The move was essential "to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community," a joint statement by the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee and the IOC said.

While 2020 had come and gone, the global pandemic is very much still here: 2021 kicked off with a range of highly transmissible coronavirus mutations, prompting a fresh wave of lockdowns and travel restrictions. The future of the Games was one again clouded with uncertainty.

Moreover, public opinion polls held in Japan over the past few months show growing opposition to holding the Olympic Games, with as many at 80% of Japanese saying the world's biggest multi-sport event should be postponed again or canceled altogether.

The Games' fickle fortune has prompted some in Japan to think they are cursed.

Believers even include Japan's Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, who said that the Tokyo Olympics appear to be blighted by world events every four decades.

"It's a problem that happens every 40 years – it's the cursed Olympics, and that's a fact," Aso told parliament after the Games were first postponed.

The IOC currently, however, insists that the Olympics will go ahead as planned, for the mere fact that "there is no Plan B."

IOC President Thomas Bach stated last month that the state of emergency declared in Tokyo over COVID-19 will not hinder the events, saying, "We have, at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on July 23. …This is why there is no 'Plan B' and this is why we are fully committed to make these Games safe and successful."

'Final decision must be made by March'

Last year, International Olympic Committee delegate in Israel Alex Gilady was optimistic – certain, even – that events will take place as scheduled. This time around, he is very cautious when predicting the future of the Tokyo Games.

"I still have heartburn from the hat I ate last year," Gilady told Israel Hayom. "I hope this year I will be able to taste victory vis-à-vis all those who doubt that the Olympic Games can be held."

Gilady, 78, is a former journalist, TV sports commentator, and the former senior vice-president of NBC Sports. He is also the founder and president of Keshet Broadcasting, which operates Channel 12, Israel's largest commercial television outlet. He joined the IOC in 1994.

Q: IOC Chair Thomas Bach recently admitted that "there is no 'Plan B' for the Games. Hasn't the IOC learned its lesson?

"He's right – there is no Plan B. the games will either be held or canceled altogether, which means the next Olympics will be held in Paris in 2024.

"I keep hearing and reading about esoteric plans to hold the games elsewhere, but that's not going to happen. As for the theory that the Games [if canceled] will return to Tokyo down the line – who knows?"

Q: The Times reports that public opinion in Japan has turned against the Olympic Games, and that low national morale could bring about their cancelation.

"All I can say is that it's a shame that such a serious newspaper quoted unnamed sources [as making the claim] so we can't confront them and respond properly.

"The Japanese government wants to hold the Tokyo Games as scheduled and it is sparing no effort to make sure that the summer games are held – in accordance with coronavirus restrictions.

Q: The IOC said it will make its final decision in March. There is no way to know where this is going before that?

"We are working on protocols related to the preparations for the Olympics. We take into account that a decision has to happen in March because if you want to travel with your child to Tokyo to see the Games, you can't wait until the last minute to plan the trip," he explained.

"Will spectators even be allowed to attend? I can't give you a definite answer at this time.  I doubt anyone in the world can."

Q: What about the athletes traveling to the Games? This is shaping out to be a very different Olympics.

"Yes, it is. The Olympic village will be smaller, athletes won't be able to move freely and most will stay at the Olympic village for a very short time. They will arrive shortly before their competitions and won't stay long after that. They will also undergo extensive [COVID] testing before, during and after their stay in Tokyo."

Gilady rejected the notion that Western media outlets are not exactly rushing to send crews to cover the Games in Asia.

"The number journalists on the waiting list for approval to cover the games is enormous – it exceeds that number [of press passes] we can provide," he asserts.

"There is a sense in the global media that this event will mark humanity's triumph over the virus, and everyone wants to be there when that happens because they believe it's about to happen, despite some media reports to the contrary."

Q: Will this be your last summer Olympics?

"The members of the International Olympic Committee retire from office at the age of 80 – that's another two years for me. At the same time, this week I had a meeting about Paris 2024 and I continue to work as usual.

"Is this the end for me on the International Olympic Committee? There are many options to continue, as an honorary member, voluntarily – if they want me, of course. But I'm certainly working on Paris Games, and there are more winter games in Beijing before that."

Q: Any thoughts about your successor? Guaranteeing one seems like a difficult task.

"It is a very difficult task indeed, but I think it's an important matter. It has been proven throughout the years that representing our interests in all various [international] institutions is extremely important, especially in view of the challenges we are facing on the international level in the post-Corona years.

"It's also important to me to know that someone will be able to represent us faithfully even after it's time for me to retire."

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Sunday's match ended with a score of 11-1 in Israel's favor.

On its way to the historic milestone, Israel played against Italy and the Czech Republic in a tournament that reached its peak over the weekend, with Israel almost eliminated Friday.

Ultimately, though, Israel managed to get a ticket to Tokyo after winning 5 out of 6 games in the tournament.

Israel is the only country so far that has managed to win a spot at the Summer Games in this field. Japan, as the host, automatically qualified.

Only five other national baseball teams will get to compete for a medal in the summer games.

The Israeli baseball squad comprises mostly American Jews who already play in leagues in the United States.

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