You can expect to see Simone Biles in Paris!
The American gymnast, who is generally regarded as one of the best of all time, was selected for the women’s gymnastics squad on Sunday, June 30, at the conclusion of the 2024 United States Olympic trials in Minneapolis. She will be competing in the Olympic Games the following month.
Together with Muriel Grossfeld, Linda Metheny, and Dominique Dawes, she is just the fourth female gymnast in the history of the United States to ever qualify for three teams from the same competition.
In an interview with People earlier this week, Dawes, who earned a gold medal in 1996, said, “It will be wonderful to see her outshine what I had done many decades ago.” There is no doubt that she has earned it. There is no doubt in my mind that she will not only contribute to the team’s medal, but she will also be able to compete for an individual medal.
The more I say it, the more I realize that I could even envision her preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles… According to Dawes, she has that level of skill.
After the trials were completed on Sunday, Biles made a statement in which she attributed her trip, in part, to “trusting the process” and to regular therapy visits on Thursdays. She also said, “I knew I’d be back.”
The journey that the 27-year-old athlete has taken to reach the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 has been an emotional one, filled with both victory and disappointment.
As a result of her withdrawal from four final events at the Tokyo Games in 2021, she was only able to bring home a bronze medal for balance beam, despite the fact that she was the favorite to win gold in many of the events. This caused her to make headlines.
She said that she was struggling with what gymnasts refer to as the “twisties,” which is a condition in which she lost the capacity to feel her body when it was rising in the air.
“I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times,” Biles had said to her supporters earlier in Tokyo, after she had made a number of blunders that were not typical of her during the qualifying round.
She claimed her bad mental health as the basis for her decision to withdraw from the competition, which included the stress of the contests as well as the beginning of the “twisties.”
For the first time since participating in Tokyo, Biles participated in the 2023 U.S. Classic, where she competed for the gold medal in the all-around competition. This was the first time she had returned to the mat since the tournament.
In the latter part of that year, she went on to win the all-around contests in both the 2023 United States National Championships and the 2023 World Championships. Additionally, she triumphed in the national gymnastics championships in 2024, bringing home the top prize this time around.
Biles has not stopped being transparent about how she perceives her position in the sport of gymnastics to be growing. A little more than a week before the beginning of the 2024 Olympics, on July 17, Netflix will release the first trailer for her new four-part documentary series Simone Biles Rising. The trailer was published on June 19, and it will be available on the streaming service.
It is documented in the series that the gymnast made the choice to withdraw from the events in Tokyo, as well as her journey with her mental health in preparation for the Olympic Games in 2024. Behind-the-scenes video of Biles in Tokyo, her contests in 2023, her old colleague Aly Raisman, and more personal moments with NFL safety Jonathan Owens, whom Biles married in April 2023, are included in the teaser. Biles married Owens in April 2023.
Biles has also just secured a position in the “Power of She” campaign that is being run by Athleta. In this ad, she makes the following statement: “For bold choices on big stages, for pounding hearts and personal bests.” for being able to hear yourself over the mass of people and for landing in your power. We are present here.”
People asked Biles about the advertisement, and she responded by saying, “I am so proud to be a part of the Athleta family and hope that when women and young girls see this spot, they feel like they can step into their own power, build confidence, and help celebrate our collective strength, embodying the Power of She.”
“The more women and young girls who believe in the essence of the Power of She, the greater the experiences we can share in each other, creating a feeling of belonging through active engagement, movement, and support to help realize the strength and wisdom that resides in all of us,” the gymnast continued. “The more we share in each other, the more we can share in each other.”