Simone Biles is getting a little old for this. But maybe not too old to continue. Maybe.
Minutes after the American gymnast won her seventh career Olympic gold medal in a vault final on Saturday that left little doubt that even at 27 she is still in a class of her own, she played coy when asked if this was the last time she would leap from the springboard in competition.
While Biles admitted she was officially retiring from her eponymous Yurchenko double-peak jump because she “did a little bit of good work” on it at the Paris Olympics, she did not rule out a return to the Games if they move to Los Angeles in 2028.
“Never say never,” Biles said. “The next Olympics are at home. So you never know. I’m getting really old.”
Sometimes it’s hard to say. After winning gold in the individual all-around and helping the U.S. to a dominant win in the team all-around, Simone Biles claimed her third gold medal in five days on Saturday.
Over the past few Olympic cycles, women’s artistic gymnastics has undergone a huge change. The average age of the top competitors has increased and some big names are enjoying long careers.
By the time LA rolls around in 2028, Biles will be 31. Maria Gorokhovskaya is the oldest gymnast to win the all-around title, having won gold at age 30 in 1952 for the Soviet Union. Not that making history would be anything new for Biles—she’s already the second-oldest gymnast to win the all-around title. Hungary’s Ágnes Keleti continued to win individual gold medals at age 35.
Biles isn’t the only American gymnast with his sights set on 2028.
Jade Carey, 24, was held off from silver on the vault by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. Not that Carey was complaining. Three years after stumbling in the vault final and finishing last, Carey achieved the “redemption” she sought when she pointed to an Olympic return.
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“I wanted to prove to myself that I can do two jumps in the final,” Carey said. “(To) walk away with the medal is really special for me.”
Carey’s Olympics are over. Biles’s are not. She gets two more chances to add to her medal haul in Paris, in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday. And with the home Games coming up, she could still top that.