28 Jun 2023 at 18:12
Two years after her eventful participation in the Olympic Games, gymnastics icon Simone Biles faces her return to competition level. The American is on the list of participants for the US Classic in her own country.
The 26-year-old Biles herself has not yet said anything about her return. The four-time Olympic champion has taken a step back over the past two years to focus on her mental health and the general well-being of athletes. Biles previously left open whether she wanted to return to the sport.
Biles last appeared at the highest level during the 2021 Olympics, where she withdrew from several individual finals due to mental problems. Biles suffered from so-called ‘twisties’ in Tokyo, which caused her to lose her coordination during exercises.
After the Games, Biles said she should never have competed in Tokyo. She says she was not ready for it, because it was also about Larry Nassar in the run-up. The former US gymnastics team doctor has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for abusing gymnasts.
“It was too much. But I wasn’t about to let him take away something I’ve worked for since I was six,” Biles told me at the time New York Magazine. “I didn’t want him to take that pleasure away from me. So I persevered as long as my mind and body would allow.”
Biles also took a break after the Rio Olympics
It is unknown if Biles plans to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. The gymnastics icon won a total of seven medals in Rio and Tokyo (four gold, two silver and three bronze). She could become the first American gymnast to win three Olympics since Dominique Dawes in 2000.
Biles also took a break after the 2016 Olympics. After the tournament where she won four gold medals, she was not full-time gymnastics for more than a year. In the past two years, she used her break to tie the knot with NFL player Jonathan Owens, among other things.
The US Classic, the tournament Biles is aiming for before her return, is one of the big events on the USA Gymnastics calendar. The tournament usually serves as a kind of warm-up for the national championships, which take place in San Jose at the end of August.
2023-06-28 16:12:22
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