Sport

‘I knew I’d be back’ - Simone Biles reaches Paris after cruising to victory at US Olympic trials

Three years after Biles withdrew from a number of events Tokyo, she has booked her ticket to Paris with a strong showing

Simone Biles during the recent US Olympic trials. Photograph: Elsa/Getty Images
Simone Biles during the recent US Olympic trials. Photograph: Elsa/Getty Images
Mon Jul 01 2024 - 10:23

Simone Biles is heading back to the Olympics and the spotlight that comes with it.

The gymnastics superstar earned a third trip to her sport’s biggest stage by cruising to victory at the US Olympic trials on Sunday night, posting a two day all-around total of 117.225 to clinch the lone 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 heads back to the games looking perhaps as good as ever.

“Trusting the process and [my coaches], I knew I’d be back,” Biles said.

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A trip to France has never really been in doubt since she returned from a two year break last summer. Over the last 12 months the 27-year-old has won a sixth world all-around title and her eighth and ninth national championships – both records – while further cementing her status as the best ever in her sport.

She’ll head to Paris as a prohibitive favorite to bookend the Olympic gold she won in 2016, but with areas to work on, too.

Biles backpedaled after landing her Yurchenko double pike vault, a testament to both the vault’s difficulty and the immense power she generates during a skill few male gymnasts try and even fewer land as cleanly.

She hopped off the beam after failing to land her side aerial, though she wasn’t quite as frustrated as she was during a sloppy performance on Friday that left her uttering an expletive on camera.

Simone Biles on the uneven bars during the US Olympic trials. Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Simone Biles on the uneven bars during the US Olympic trials. Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Biles finished with a flourish on the floor exercise, her signature event. Though there was a small step out of bounds, there was also the unmatched world class tumbling that recently drew a shoutout from pop star Taylor Swift, whose song Ready For It opens Biles’s routine.

She stepped off the podium to a standing ovation, then sat down atop the steps to take in the moment in what could be her last competitive round on American soil for a while.

The Americans will be loaded with experience as they try to return to win team gold after finishing second to 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 by rounding out the top four. Sixteen-year-old Hezly Rivera will also be part of the team as she competes in her first Olympics.

Yet the Biles that will step on to the floor at Bercy Arena for Olympic qualifying in four weeks isn’t the same woman who left Tokyo. She has taken intentional steps to make sure 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 house in the Houston suburbs they hope to move into after Biles returns from Paris.

Biles heads to France as one of the faces of the US team, although she’s well aware that more than a few of the millions that will tune in to watch next month will be checking to see if the demons that derailed her in Tokyo resurface.

And while there are still moments of anxiety – including at last year’s world championships – she has put safeguards in place to protect herself. She meets with a therapist weekly, even during competition season, something she didn’t do in preparation for the 2020 Games.

The Americans will take their oldest women’s team ever to the games, as Biles’ unrivaled longevity – she hasn’t lost a meet she’s started and finished since 2013 – and the easing of name, image and likeness regulations at US colleges allowed 2020 Olympic veterans Carey, Chiles and Lee to continue to compete while cashing in on their newfound fame at the same time.They have relied on that experience to get back to this moment during a sometimes harrowing meet that saw leading contenders Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello exit with leg injuries that took them out of the mix weeks before opening ceremonies.

- Guardian