Simone Biles returns to the Olympics
MINNEAPOLIS — Simone Biles is returning to the Olympics and the intense spotlight that comes with it.
The gymnastics superstar made her third appearance on the sport's biggest stage with an easy victory at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday night, earning the lone automatic berth on the five-member women's team with a two-day combined score of 117.225 points.
Three years on from the Tokyo Olympics, Biles has had to withdraw from multiple finals to prioritise her safety and mental health, but she will likely return as great as ever.
“I knew I would be able to come back because I trusted the process and (the coaching staff),” Biles said.
She has been a sure thing for France since returning from a two-year break last summer, and her achievements over the past 12 months have included a sixth world all-around title and eighth and ninth national titles (both new records), further cementing her status as the greatest athlete the sport has ever seen.
She heads to Paris as the overwhelming favorite after winning Olympic gold in 2016, but with some work to do.
Biles took a step back after landing the Yurchenko double pike vault, a testament both to the difficulty of the vault and the immense power she generates while performing the move, which so few men attempt and even fewer can land cleanly.
She jumped off the balance beam after mis-landing a side aerial, but wasn't nearly as frustrated as she was after a sloppy performance on Friday that left her spitting expletives in front of the world.
Biles finished with a splendid performance on floor exercise, her specialty event, where she was slightly off-balance but showed off the kind of unparalleled, world-class tumbling that was recently praised by pop star Taylor Swift, and her performance began with her song, “Ready For It.”
She stepped off the podium to a standing ovation and sat on the steps, savoring what may have been her final competitive round on American soil for some time.
Next destination: Paris.
The United States, looking to return to the top of the podium after finishing second to Russia in 2020, is likely to have plenty of experience.
Reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, 2020 Olympic floor exercise champion Jade Carey and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Childs all finished in the top four, convincingly behind Biles.
But the Biles who steps onto the court at the Bercy Arena for the Olympic qualifiers in four weeks will not be the same Biles who left Tokyo.
She has taken intentional steps to ensure her life is no longer defined by gymnastics: Biles is set to marry Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens in the spring of 2023, and the couple is building a home in the northern suburbs of Houston, where they hope to move soon after Biles returns from Paris.
Biles heads to France presumably as the face of the U.S. Olympic movement, but she is well aware that among the millions watching on television next month, some will be tuning in to see whether the demons that frustrated her in Tokyo resurface.
Though she still has moments of uncertainty, including at last year's world championships, she takes safety measures to protect herself: She meets with a therapist every week during competitive season, something she didn't do while preparing for the 2020 Olympics.
Biles and the four other skaters joining her in France will be considered overwhelming favourites with defending Olympic champion Russia unable to compete because of the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. will send its oldest women's team ever to the Olympics thanks to Biles' unmatched longevity (she hasn't lost a tournament since 2013) and relaxed name, image and likeness rules at the NCAA level, allowing 2020 Olympic veterans Carey, Chiles and Lee to continue competing while simultaneously enjoying newfound fame.
They relied on that experience to bounce back from a sometimes-disastrous tournament that saw top contenders Serie Jones, Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello all withdraw from the competition after being sidelined by a leg injury just weeks before the opening ceremony.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
