The comeback is complete, redemption has been achieved, and the greatest gymnast of her generation – perhaps not the greatest gymnast to ever set foot on the mat – has tasted gold again.
The next question for Simone Biles is a complex one: what now?
It’s not like Biles has to prove herself to anyone. With 30 World Championship medals and 11 Olympic medals – seven of which are Olympic gold – she is already the most decorated gymnast of all time.
But now that the women’s artistic gymnastics competition has ended – and the Paris Olympics are drawing to a close – questions about Biles’ future will undoubtedly arise.
Could we have seen the last of the greatest gymnasts ever on the Olympic podium? And if so, what could the future hold for her?
Simone Biles made a fantastic comeback at the 2024 Paris Olympics – she won four medals
But now that success has been found again, the question arises as to what awaits the gymnast next
Biles’ comeback was near-perfect as she returned to the mat after attempting an elegant exit three years earlier in Tokyo.
Biles took some time off to focus on her mental health battle with “the twisties” and competed only on the balance beam in Japan – winning bronze. She also took home a silver medal for the team event, which she did not compete in.
It was a long road for her to get back into gymnastics, but she finally took that step and found herself back on the Olympic podium.
Her performance in Paris was a tour de force. Not only did she lead the United States to a victory in the team all-around, she also reclaimed her title as the best gymnast at this Olympics in the individual all-around.
Add to that gold on the vault and silver on the floor exercise and the Texas gymnast has won four medals in total.
It was an emotional Olympics for Biles, especially considering everything she had been through.
‘Yesterday, when we got back to the village, I looked at Jordan [Chiles] “And I started crying,” Biles said Tuesday on the “TODAY” Show. “She was like, ‘I knew it was going to happen, I just didn’t know when.’ I was just full of emotion and I finally let it all out.”
Biles then clarified, “I was so proud, happy and bittersweet that the journey was over. It’s so crazy, it happened so fast. My third Olympics.”
Biles claimed a second team gold with the United States in Paris, as well as an individual title
She also won gold on the vault (seen above) and a silver medal on the floor exercise
Her next show is a 30-city tour, where Biles and several American gymnasts will perform a showcase for the United States.
Biles and his teammates Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles will be present during the ‘Gold Over America Tour’, as well as ‘horse specialist’ Stephen Nedoroscik and other gymnasts.
The tour kicks off in September and ends in early November, with Biles on the road for seven Sundays.
That may not have mattered much before her marriage, but now that she’s married to an NFL player, it means Biles won’t be able to watch her husband Jonathan Owens play for the Chicago Bears for a while.
Owens is currently in training camp with the Bears after taking some time away from the team to watch Biles compete in the Olympics.
“He was so excited,” Biles said of her husband’s experience cheering her on in France. “He loved watching me compete, he was still keeping score.
“It meant a lot to him. He saw how many hours I put into it, so he was so happy to be there.”
Biles and Owens could become a new NFL couple, perhaps like Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, but it’s hard to say.
Simone Biles kisses her husband Jonathan Owens when he was a member of the Packers
A Green Bay Packers fan holds up a sign with Taylor Swift and Simone Biles on it in 2023
Then there’s the question of children. Biles says she and her husband have talked about having them and that the idea of starting a family is on their minds.
“Yeah, Jonathan and I always talk about kids. He would have wanted them yesterday if he could have. But yeah, absolutely [thinking about a family]’ she said on the TODAY show.
Despite their parents’ athletic backgrounds, Owens says their potential children won’t feel pressured to get into sports.
“If that’s what they want to do, I’m not going to force anything on them,” Owens said. People Magazine.
“Of course they know what their parents did, so that’s something fun for them to look at and for us to relive those stories and memories with them.”
“And she loves taking pictures and we get things framed for her,” he adds of Biles.
“But honestly, whatever they want to do, I’m just 100 percent supportive. I don’t want to force them and make them feel like you have to do this because we did it. That generally works well for kids.”
Jonathan Owens celebrates his wife winning team gold medal at all-around competition in Paris
Despite all the rumors about what she might do next, Biles remains coy.
With the next Summer Olympics being held on home soil in 2028, many are wondering if Biles would try again.
“Never say never,” Biles said last Saturday. “The next Olympics are at home, so you never know. But I’m getting really old.”
Earlier this week, she repeated a similar response on the Today Show: “You know, you never say never.
“The next Olympics are on home turf, so you never know. I’m just going to relax and see where life takes me.”
She also lashed out at people on social media who tried to get a response from her: ‘You guys really need to stop asking athletes what they’re going to do after they win a medal at the Olympics.
“Let’s enjoy the moment we’ve worked for all our lives.”
Well, it’s been about four days since she finished the balance beam and floor competitions, so she’s had some time to enjoy the moment.
Biles would be 31 if she competed at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
But if she were to actually appear at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, it would be unprecedented.
Biles would be 31 years old when it happens, which means she’s already quite old by gymnastics standards.
Athletes who compete in the Olympic Games are typically between their teens and early twenties.
The fact that Biles was competing at 27 is shocking enough, let alone at 31.
It’s only speculation at what level Biles would play, let alone whether she would make the Olympic team.
But if she did want to go to Los Angeles, her extended stay would only add to her reputation as one of the best to ever do so.