Simone Biles Feared Backlash for Her Gold Medal-Inspired, 'Word Vomit' Clapback at 'Dancing with the Stars' Judges

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles blogs about her Dancing with the Stars experience exclusively for PEOPLE

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles wrote this blog exclusively for PEOPLE just hours before her shocking elimination from season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. Follow Biles, 20, and her pro dancer partner Sasha Farber, 33, on Twitter!

Last Monday was a little rough.

It was week 8 and I think they were pushing all of us to the max both mentally and physically — and it showed. They know the end is near and they want to get the best out of us for both ourselves and for America.

There was a lot of back-and-forth between the judges and [host Tom Bergeron] about how I was coming across on camera so I said, “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals.”

To be honest, I didn’t know what to say and that’s just what came out of my mouth. It was kind of like word vomit.

My mom was a little worried that my comment was going to be taken negatively, but the positive outcome has been absolutely amazing. It went everywhere. I never thought that would happen. It’s just nuts. But it’s proof of the power of words and I’m humbled, really, that people care what I have to say.

FROM COINAGE: The Cost of Dancing with the Stars‘ Mirrorball Trophy

This week we have two dances — one that we chose and another chosen by one of the judges — which has made for a crazy few days. Sasha and I are dancing a rumba, which I got pretty easily on the first day, but judge Carrie Ann Inaba chose a jive for our second dance and that one has been way harder.

The jive is exhausting and full of so many precise foot movements. It’s like a hurricane! At the end of the day I’m ready to just go home, eat and go to bed.

I actually was a bit nervous I wasn’t going to get the jive by tonight. Early in the week, it was flipping out of my head so easily. But by Friday we had filmed a rehearsal for the producers and that went well and I started to feel a lot better about it.

It’s crazy how close we are to the end. Just one more week to go after tonight! It’s really bittersweet because we’ve been on this journey for so long but it’s going to be sad when it’s done. I’ve learned so much and I’ll miss Sasha. There have been really hard moments along the way but I would tell anyone to jump at the chance to do this show if they can. It’s an incredible journey and I’ve come out the other side as a different person.

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays (at 8 p.m. ET) on ABC.