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Are you ready for Simone Biles’ big comeback?

Posted on by angelo

Simone Biles officially made her return to gymnastics on Sunday night after winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. This comes after Biles withdrew from mid-competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and subsequently took almost two years off.

Simone Biles’ achievements ahead of Tokyo 2020

At 27, Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, with an impressive 37 Olympic and world championship medals. She is widely considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. Unlike many gymnasts, Biles has never competed in the NCAA, forgoing her verbal commitment to UCLA during the 2016 Olympic circuit to turn professional. At the 2016 Rio Games, she won four Olympic gold medals, dominating the individual all-around, vault, floor exercise, and the U.S. team event. Biles also holds the record for most medals at the World Championships in gymnastics, winning 30 in her career.

In 2017, Biles took a break from her gymnastics career to explore other opportunities. She co-wrote her autobiography, “Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance,” which became a New York Times bestseller. She also demonstrated her versatility by competing on season 24 of “Dancing with the Stars,” where she was favored to win but ultimately finished in fourth place after being eliminated before the finale.

Biles made her return to gymnastics in March 2018 and was looking forward to competing at the 2018 World Championships. However, the day before qualifying, she had a health issue that sent her to the emergency room, but she persevered and qualified in first place the next day, proving her talent and resilience.

Complications and gymnastics break at Tokyo 2020

In February 2020, Simon Biles was named to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic team, shortly after the Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Entering the Olympics, Biles was favored to win at least 4 out of 6 gold medals. After competing in the first round of the women’s team event, Biles decided to withdraw from the event along with a few others due to a combination of mental health issues and experiencing “twisties”, a condition that causes a gymnast to lose spatial awareness during a fall.

Despite her struggles, Biles competed in the beam final again and won a bronze medal. Biles was one of the first athletes to take a break from such major competition for mental health reasons, sparking a global debate about the pressures faced by elite athletes and whether health mental health of athletes is not always a priority.

Biles ultimately took a two-year break from the sport, but she stayed busy repairing her mental and physical health. In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden awarded Biles the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Simone also met NFL player Jonathan Owens in 2020. The couple married in April 2023 and continue to cheer each other on during their respective competitions.

Return to gymnastics and Paris 2024

Simone Biles made her triumphant return to gymnastics in August 2023 at the US Chicago Classic, where she stood atop the podium and competed as if she had never been away. The same year, she won her eighth U.S. gymnastics championship title, becoming the oldest woman to do so at the age of 26. At the World Championships, Biles won four gold medals and one bronze, regaining his dominance in the sport. His comeback earned him the 2024 Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year, joining the ranks of past winners like Christian Eriksen (2023), Tiger Woods (2019) and Roger Federer (2018).

In May 2024, Biles once again made history by winning gold in all events at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, becoming the first gymnast to win nine all-around titles at the event, which qualifies her for the Olympic trials. On Sunday night, Biles competed in the Olympic Trials, placing first on floor with a medley of songs including Taylor Swift’s “…Are You Ready,” perhaps hinting at her Olympic return. Following her performance, Biles was officially named to the U.S. Olympic team and will compete in July, moving from a hiatus to reclaiming her place at the forefront of gymnastics.

How many medals do you think Simone Biles will win in Paris?