Aly Raisman's Best Stress-Buster: Simone Biles

From ELLE

She tumbled. She balanced. She led her team to victory. And the whole world flipped. But there can be no rest for the weary! Or for Aly Raisman.

At the Aéropostale store in midtown Manhattan to promote the brand's Seriously Stretchy jeans on Wednesday, the two-time Olympian explained that she and her teammates are just weeks away from the start of a 36-city tour around the country. "It's going to be crazy," Raisman said. "It'll be really exhausting." But while the 22-year-old has savored her time at home and off her otherwise breakneck schedule, she says she's "excited" for the chance to rally the members of the Final Five.

As watchers of the Olympics observed over the past few weeks, Raisman, Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian, and Laurie Hernandez are each other's consummate fans. "We have to be close," Raisman, who served as the team's captain in both 2012 and 2016, explained. "It's such a stressful experience, having that much pressure...to win. There's so much tension because everyone wants to win. It's so competitive." The support from teammates, Raisman continued, makes all the difference.

Photo credit: @Simone_Biles
Photo credit: @Simone_Biles

By her own admission, Raisman is quieter and more intense than some of her fellow gymnasts. She's a serious competitor! But when conversation turns to Biles, Raisman gets visibly excited.

"Simone and I always tease each other and give each other a hard time. But that just shows how close we are," Raisman says. "When we're training, she's super hyper and I'm a little bit more mellow and more serious. She keeps me giggling, because I get a little bit more stressed out. And I think I keep her a little bit more mellow and a little bit more relaxed."

"It's just a good balance," she says, reaching for a familiar turn of phrase. "Opposites attract."

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

And as she looks forward to the tour, it's Biles she can't wait to see. During the daytime, anyway.

"We'll be sleeping on buses," Raisman says. "And I'm not sure that me and Simone should be on the same tour bus. We talked about it last night, and we agreed we probably shouldn't be." Biles "bounces off the walls." And at the end of a show, Raisman needs to rest.

"She's not going to let me get any sleep!" Raisman insists, adding that Biles and Hernandez will likely "be going to sleep at 4 a.m. every night. I can't do that. I can't handle it!"

Raisman says that when she's in the mood for a snack on the bus, she sticks to juices, smoothies, whole grains, yogurt, and fruit. "When you're going, going, going you have to eat healthy so you're constantly filling yourself with good nutrients," she says. But the tour hasn't kicked off yet. So for now, Raisman is relaxing and eating as she pleases.

"I went to sleep at, like, 1 a.m. last night" she crows. By her standards, she even slept in. "I didn't wake up until 7 a.m.!"

Truly, an accomplishment of Olympic proportions.