Taylor Swift gushes over Simone Biles’ Olympics return: ‘We all learned from you’

Taylor Swift and Simone Biles had an emotional exchange on Twitter, with Swift praising Biles after her triumphant comeback at the Tokyo Games.

The singer narrated an NBC promo marking the decorated gymnast's return to the Olympic competition Tuesday. The promo was accompanied by Swift’s "Folklore" track “This is Me Trying.”

“What do we want from our heroes?” Swift said in the narration. “What do we expect from them? What do we need from them?

“What happens when they surprise us? When you have the attention of the world, everything you do takes on a bigger meaning," Swift said. "It can be a heavy burden; it can be a chance to change everything.”

'It's just been really hard': Simone Biles' most powerful statements about mental health

Swift also acknowledged the impact of the dialogue Biles has created around mental health in the promo.

“Throughout the last week, her voice has been as significant as her talents,” Swift said. “Her honesty as beautiful as the perfection that had long been her signature. But don't you see?

“It still is. She is perfectly human, and that's what makes it so easy to call her a hero.”

Biles took to Twitter to express appreciation for the promo and Swift’s words.

“I'm crying – how special,” Biles wrote. “I love you @taylorswift13.”

More: At Tokyo Olympics, women athletes say 'enough'

Swift responded to Biles’ tweet and highlighted the emotional significance of watching her return to the Tokyo Games.

“I cried watching YOU,” Swift wrote. “I feel so lucky to have gotten to watch you all these years, but this week was a lesson in emotional intelligence and resilience. We all learned from you: thank you.”

Biles had previously pulled out of four individual finals last week – all-around, vault, floor and uneven bars – citing mental health concerns and “the twisties,” a disorienting condition in which a gymnast loses their sense of awareness in the air. Biles’ coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, also told reporters Tuesday that the gymnast was dealing with the unexpected death of her aunt prior to entering the women’s balance beam final.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God. This week needs to be over,’” Canqueteau-Landi said. “I asked (Biles) what do you need, and she said, ‘I just need time.’ I said, ‘You call me, text me if you need anything I’ll be here. Whatever it is.’

“She called her parents. She said, ‘There is nothing I can do from over here. So I’m just going to finish my week, and when I get home we’ll deal with it.’”

More: Simone Biles reveals that her aunt died during Tokyo Olympics

Tokyo Olympics: Simone Biles wins bronze medal on balance beam in return to action

Biles received a score of 14.0 in the women’s balance beam final, earning the gymnast a bronze medal and her seventh Olympic medal overall. Biles’ win ties her with fellow gymnast Shannon Miller for the most medals won by an American gymnast.

Biles said “bringing a light to the conversation of mental health” has been the greater accomplishment of her time at the 2020 Olympics – though she also acknowledged on social media that “leaving Tokyo with 2 more Olympic medals to add to my collection isn't too shabby!”

“(Mental health is) something that people go through a lot that is kind of pushed under the rug,” Biles said, according to the Olympics’ official website. “I feel like we're not just entertainment. We’re humans, as well, and we have feelings.”

Contributing: Analis Bailey, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Taylor Swift, Simone Biles have emotional Olympics Twitter exchange