Simone Biles News 2016: Olympic Gold Medalist Recalls Being Called 'Fat' By Coach [VIDEO]
Even an Olympic gymnast like Simone Biles hasn't escaped being called fat in her career.
Biles is a highly-decorated Olympian, having won four gold medals at the Rio Olympics alone, but she recently revealed that she was called "fat" by a coach in 2013. The 19-year-old opened up to Today's Hoda Kotb this week and revealed her shocking tale.
"You overheard a coach say, 'You know why she crashed? Because she's too fat - that's why. How does she expect to compete like that?'" Kotb asked.
"I dismissed myself from the floor so nobody could see me and I walked to the back behind the curtains and I was crying," Biles admitted.
Thankfully, her head team coordinator, Martha Karolyi, took a different approach and gave her a strong pep talk.
"Martha pulled me back on the floor and she gave me a little bit of a pep talk and was like, 'See, you can't train like this and let the results show,' " Biles recalled. "So I went back to the gym and I did as told. Her pep talk kind of gave me a little bit of an up rather than a down."
The Olympic star noted, "It felt good to hear her. Because I was terrified she was going to be upset with me."
Biles is now telling her story in her new memoir, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, a Life in Balance. The book, which is out now, recalls Biles' struggles and triumphs to succeed in the world of competitive gymnastics.
Outside of her book and Olympic gold medals, Biles has had an incredible year thus far. She got to present at the MTV VMAs where she met Beyonce, she was courted to do Dancing With the Stars (though she ultimately turned the show down, while her fellow Final Five competitor Laurie Hernandez competed).
