Simone Biles strives to strengthen her position as the No. 1 gymnastics legend at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Simone Biles will travel to Paris ready to cement his legacy as the greatest gymnast of all time, an Olympic icon who has overcome his sport in both victories and defeats. This little girl impressed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, winning gold medals in the all-around, biathlon, freestyle and team competitions.

She arrived at the Tokyo Olympics delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic with a superstar reputation and is ready to go down in history with sights, but has withdrawn from the majority of her events as she struggles with disorientation and “petrification” mental obstacles that gymnasts call “spirals.” Hailed by many as a mental health pioneer but criticized by some as an outcast, Biles is back after a two-year hiatus at the age of 27, as good or even better than ever.

In 2023, she brought her total world and Olympic medals to 37 – a feat she started with her first all-around title in 2013, when she was just 16 years old. Currently the owner of a record 6 world almighty crowns, Biles is still a figure not to be missed even among superstars such as NBA basketball legend LeBron James and pop diva Taylor Swift.

 
Simone Biles is back more profitable than before?
More than 7 million followers on Instagram were immersed in fairytale photos of Biles’ wedding to NFL player Jonathan Owens, who received special permission from the Chicago Bears to miss a few days in training camp in order to travel to Paris to watch her play. Taylor Swift took a moment during the Eras tour in Europe to tweet her endorsement as Biles chose a phrase in “… Ready For It” of Swift to begin her floor performance at the U.S. Olympic selections.

But Biles’ ascent also has many twists and turns as one of her signature acrobatic moves. Tokyo ended a tumultuous period that included Biles’ revelation in 2018 that she was among hundreds of gymnasts who were sexually abused by former Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar. She was a vocal critic of the U.S. Gymnastics Federation and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for how they handled the scandal and was the leading voice calling for them to be held accountable, after Nassar was convicted and jailed.

Soon to become the oldest female gymnast to compete for the U.S. since Marie Margaret Hoesly in 1952, Biles had to laugh when she was reminded that she had teased 22-year-old Aly Raisman by calling Aly Raisman the “grandmother” of the U.S. team in 2016. “I definitely have to apologize to Aly for calling her grandma because, oh, I feel a lot older now,” Biles said, noting that today, her body feels that way after a big competition. “Back in Rio, I could do anything. I never needed ice, nothing. I’m like a little hamster sitting on wheels, always running.”

Biles has also paid special attention to her mental health, continuing her weekly therapy sessions in a way that she believes is key to her successful return. NBC Olympics Television calculated that an acrobatic run in Biles’ floor exercise helped her fly 3.6m higher than the carpet. She created the Yurchenko double pike jump – a jump so difficult that no other woman has ever tried it in the competition, and now it’s the fifth skill for her.

“I think we always knew she could improve,” said coach Cecile Landi – who with her husband and co-coach Laurent Landi guided Biles to improve after her return. “She’s the most talented athlete I’ve ever worked with and so we just knew if she could train her mentally and physically, she would be almost unstoppable.”

Biles’ path has been made easier by the supportive environment at the World Champions Center, a gym in Texas owned and operated by Biles’ parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nellie and Ron. The couple, who are in fact Biles’ grandparents, adopted Biles and her sister Adria due to their biological mother’s inability to care for their child amid struggling with substance abuse.

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Biles was included in the U.S. Olympic team with Jordan Chiles – a friend at the WCC and a Tokyo Olympic teammate. Tokyo Olympic all-around gold medalist Suni Lee and freestyle gold medalist Jade Carey and 16-year-old rookie Hezly Rivera are both on the list for Paris 2024. Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022, Biles knew that she and her teammates would still face haters who “want to see us fail.”

But she’s happy to be back in her own way. “Nobody forced me to train,” Biles said. “I wake up every day and choose to work out in the gym and then come out here and perform for myself. Just to remind myself that I can still do it – that’s my reason.”