PARIS: The parallels were glaring. Perhaps fitting in at the site of déjà vu’s origin.
Simone Biles during the Olympics, seated off to the side. Marcia Faustin, team physician for the USA Gymnastics, by her side. A worried expression on each of their faces.
The drama ended in Tokyo three years ago with Biles withdrawing from multiple finals out of concern for her safety, which sparked a global conversation about mental health.
But Biles is set on rewriting the story in Paris in a different way. The 27-year-old American celebrity was dealing with something much more typical of gymnasts, especially those who have been doing this for 20 years, rather than any kind of barrier or trauma.
Like in Tokyo, Biles and Faustin vanished for a little while. In contrast to Tokyo, Biles came back severely wrapped on her left leg and without a sweatsuit after spraining her calf during a floor exercise warm-up. With the exception of the competition floor, she spent the remainder of the afternoon limping around.
The woman who has been saying repeatedly that this isn’t 2021 proved it on Sunday in front of a star-studded crowd at Bercy Arena. She overcame what U.S. coach Cecile Landi described as a minor calf issue to post the highest all-around score and drive any remaining demons from Tokyo to the back of her mind.
Biles, who was competing in her final event—the uneven bars dismount—salted the audience after finishing with a score of 59.566, considerably ahead of her compatriot and current Olympic champion Sunisa Lee. With no intention of stopping her pursuit of gold in the team final on Tuesday and the individual all-around on Thursday, she sprang from the podium and danced with her close friend Jordan Chiles.
“It was really great, 59.5,” Landi remarked. “Not flawless, so she can still get better, but… just incredibly good.”
According to Landi, the problem first surfaced a few weeks ago and is rather small. The topic of Biles leaving was not raised.
Rather, while Laurent taped heavily over her leg, Landi and her husband Laurent, who has long been Biles’ personal coach in Texas, told her to breathe and keep going.
Landi remarked, “We advised her to remind herself, like she’s capable of doing it.” “She did, and she understands she’s got it and it’s okay.” Extremely happy for her.
She barely noticed the problem. After the injury, Biles achieved the best scores on the floor and vault as she looks to increase her career total of seven Olympic medals.
Uneven bars is the only event that Biles is probably going to skip in the final because she decided not to try a novel talent that she submitted to the International Gymnastics Federation on Friday. She still has the option to do it during the team championship, which would allow it to be added to the sport’s Code of Points with her name on it.
But after Biles completed her bars set, it didn’t seem like he was thinking about that at all. Rather, after her dismount at what might be the last tournament of her illustrious career, there was a mix of relief and a desire to savour the occasion.
The same could be said for her colleagues as the highly favoured Americans, who are attempting to find “redemption” after finishing second to Russia three years ago, finished at 172.296, more than five points ahead of Italy (166.861) through two of the five subdivisions.
They’re relieved and delighted, according to Landi. “After day one, we’ll hopefully move on to team finals, all-around finals, and a few event finals.”
As she got through the events, Landi reported that Biles’ leg was feeling better, and she anticipated that she would be available moving forward.
The truth is that the Americans don’t need to rely on Russia as much as they did in past Games, especially now that she is out of the picture owing to the conflict in Ukraine.
Early qualifying saw Biles, Lee, and Chiles go 1-2-3 in the all-around; however, Chiles will not be able to compete in the all-around final because of rules limiting a country to two athletes per competition.
Should Chiles get in the top eight, there’s a chance she’ll advance to the floor exercise final. While Biles is expected to compete in the vault final alongside 2020 floor exercise champion Jade Carey, Lee is almost a guarantee for the beam and bars finals.
Of course, that assumes Biles’s health.
An event that has become a must-see for athletes and celebrities alike was given a dramatic touch by the injury.
There were stars around and a buzz in the spectators. Tom Cruise waited for Biles to come out before striking a selfie. Along with Ariana Grande, Jessica Chastain, John Legend, and Anna Wintour, Snoop Dogg enjoyed front-row seats.
As the public face of the American Olympic movement—and possibly the Olympics themselves—Biles arrived in Paris. There has been a noticeable hype surrounding Biles’s return to the Games, and NBC has been extensively using her star power by showcasing her face in numerous promotions leading up to Paris.
There’s actual weight to her. Olympic athletes from different backgrounds have expressed their desire to see the most decorated gymnast in history perform a display that is uniquely hers. LeBron James and the American men’s basketball team were among them; they had a busy Sunday with Olympic qualifying.
If Biles’ calf cooperates, which is rarely a given in a sport where injuries occur almost always, James and company might have a chance to catch her later this week.
For the most part, Biles has avoided the physical problems that have prevented so many others from competing in the Olympics during the past 11 years.
Not for Biles, not yet, as her opportunity for a magnificent farewell still looms, even though she must now physically take things one cautious step at a time.
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