Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesBiles told reporters later that she had been experiencing "a little bit of twisties", a mental block that can suddenly appear and cause a gymnast to lose their senses of direction, or even perform an extra twist. This block can occur while flipping or twisting in the air, leaving a gymnast blind to the world around them. They are unable to see the ground and land safely.Ex-gymnasts shared their thoughts about how the vault could have ended with Deanna Hong, producer of Golden: The Journey of USA’s Elite Gymnasts. They also said that it could have caused serious injury.Hong tweeted, "One former US elite gymnast that I spoke to said that if Simone Biles had made the same mistake, they would have surely blown a knee at least." Hong tweeted, "Another stated that if it had happened instead to Simone, she probably would have been paralyzed."
