‘I knew I’d be back’: Simone Biles shines at US gymnastics trials to seal Olympics spot
Simone Biles is returning to the Olympics and the attention that comes with it.
The gymnast earned her third trip to her sport’s biggest stage by winning the U.S. Olympic qualifiers on Sunday night, posting a two-day total of 117.225 to earn the only automatic spot on the five-woman team.
Three years removed from the Tokyo Olympics — where she withdrew from some of her events to prioritize her safety and mental health — Biles returns to the Games looking perhaps as good as ever.
“Trust in the process and [my coaches]“I knew I was going to come back,” Biles said.
A trip to France has never really been in doubt since she returned from a two-year break last summer. In the past 12 months, the 27-year-old has claimed a sixth world all-around title and her eighth and ninth national championships – both records – as she further cements her status as the best ever in her sport.
She heads to Paris as the big favorite to celebrate her 2016 Olympic gold medal, but she still has a few things to work on.
Biles backed off after landing her Yurchenko double pike jump, a testament to both the difficulty of the jump and the sheer force she generates during a skill that few male gymnasts attempt and even fewer land so cleanly.
She jumped off the beam after her sideways vault went wrong, but she wasn’t as frustrated as she was during her sloppy performance on Friday, which left her uttering a curse word on camera.
Biles closed with a flowy floor exercise, her signature event. While there was a small step out of bounds, there was also the unparalleled, world-class tumbling that recently got a shoutout from pop star Taylor Swift, whose song Ready For It opens Biles’ routine.
She stepped off the stage to a standing ovation and then sat atop the steps to take in the moment. This could be her last match on American soil for a while.
The Americans will be packed with experience as they look to return to winning team gold after finishing second behind Russia at the Tokyo Olympics. Reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, 2020 Olympic floor exercise champion Jade Carey and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles joined Biles in rounding out the top four. Sixteen-year-old Hezly Rivera will also be part of the team as she competes in her first Olympic Games.
Yet the Biles who will take the floor at Bercy Arena in four weeks for Olympic qualifying is not the same woman who left Tokyo. She has taken intentional steps to ensure that her life is no longer defined by her gymnastics. Biles married NFL player Jonathan Owens in the spring of 2023 and the two are building a home in the Houston suburbs where they hope to move after Biles returns from Paris.
Biles heads to France as one of the faces of the U.S. team, but she knows full well that some of the millions of people who will tune in next month will want to see if the demons that bedeviled her in Tokyo will resurface.
And while there are still moments of anxiety — including at last year’s world championships — she has taken precautions to protect herself. She meets with a therapist weekly, even during the competition season, something she didn’t do in preparation for the 2020 Games.
The U.S. will bring its oldest women’s team ever to the Games. Biles’ unmatched track record (she hasn’t lost a match she’s started or finished since 2013) and the loosening of name, image and likeness rules at U.S. colleges have allowed the 2020 Olympic veterans Carey, Chiles and Lee to continue competing while capitalizing on their newfound fame.
They drew on that experience to reach this moment during a sometimes grueling competition that saw leading contenders Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello retire with leg injuries that kept them out of action weeks before the opening ceremony.