"Simone Biles Rising" director dishes on Part 2 of Netflix docuseries
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Simone Biles and filmmaker Katie Walsh go way back. Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix
Simone Biles returns to the screen in a behind-the-scenes look at the superstar gymnast's Olympic run in Paris this summer.
Driving the news: The second part of "Simone Biles Rising," a docuseries detailing her epic return to the sport after withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics, premieres Friday on Netflix.
The intrigue: Axios Houston spoke with the series' decorated director, Katie Walsh, about the second part coming out and what's in store.
Axios: What was it like working on the first part of the series?
Walsh: "I started filming with Simone at Worlds … about a year ago in Belgium, which was such an exciting way to just kick off the whole project.
- "Then we had this nice opportunity to be with her during her offseason, which allowed us to have longer, deeper conversations and dive into these moments in the past that really have influenced and created context for who she is and the person she's grown into.
- "In Part 1, you see the results of those quieter moments where we could really talk about the past. [It] really sets the stage nicely for this amazing comeback that we see in Part 2 at the Olympics."
Axios: What are you excited about in the second part?
Walsh: "You get to see her succeeding, and I think it just creates this greater context for why what she's doing out there is so remarkable.
- "Yes, she's this amazing athlete and the best in the history of the sport, and that's just undeniable. But when you understand what she's gone through — with her struggles with mental health, with her experience as a survivor — it makes what she does on that floor that much more amazing.
- "We get to live in that space and time with her in the second half of the series, which is so fun and so exciting."
Axios: What's your connection to the subject matter in the series?
Walsh: "I've been covering gymnastics since 2007. … I started at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and I've covered most of the Olympics since then.
- "In 2018, I did a piece on the survivors of the Larry Nassar case while they were still very much going through the legal process. It was really raw, and it was an honor and a privilege to be able to spend so much time with so many of the survivors that were really outspoken in the case.
- "[Simone and I] didn't start at square one. We already had this built-up rapport. We had a trusting relationship. The film really benefited from that, because we were able to just jump on in to so many subjects and so many things that she felt comfortable speaking about."