Actually — you can call it a comeback.
“This is definitely our redemption tour. I feel like we all have more to give,” Simone Biles told reporters at a late-night news conference Sunday, June 30, shortly after being selected as part of the five-member women’s gymnastics team headed to the Paris Olympics next month.
Biles will compete alongside Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera.
The four of them, minus Rivera, were also all together at the 2021 Tokyo Games, where they won a team silver and five individual medals, including an all-around gold for Lee.
But their events were somewhat overshadowed by Biles’ struggles at the time: She suddenly pulled out of most of her events, citing her mental health and a case of the “twisties,” and her teammates had to, unexpectedly, step in for her absence.
On Sunday, both Lee and Biles floated the idea of ”redemption” in returning to another Olympics.
“We weren’t in the best circumstances … but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes,” Biles said. “We are more mature, we are smarter, we are more consistent.”
“I know we are stronger than what we showed in Tokyo. So I think it has to be for us because it can’t be for anybody else, because that’s not why we’re doing it. We do it for ourselves and for the love of the sport and for the love of representing the USA,” she said. “So we’re going to go out there and do our best.”
Simone Biles will compete at the Paris Olympics, only the fourth woman to make 3 gymnastics teams
Biles addressed a number of other topics – how she defines her success, enjoying the support of husband Jonathan Owens and what it’s like to grow old in a sport that puts youth first.
Now 27, Biles is leading a generation of women fighting against that prejudice. And she’s ready to playfully admit when she’s wrong.
When asked about her past team dynamic in 2016 with then-captain Aly Raisman, who was 22, Biles now jokes, “I definitely have to apologize to Aly for calling her ‘granny’ because, woo, I feel like I’m a lot older now but that I called her grandma when we were younger.”
“And that’s what, 11 [p.m.]? So it’s definitely past my bedtime – so I know Aly would be cracking up now. But yeah, it’s crazy. I’m much older, I’m more mature. What was the rest of the question? You see, I forget!”
This led her to talk about how she approaches recovery now or sooner.
“After the first day of the ordeal, I was actually surprised that I could walk. So I said, ‘Wow, I’m actually not that sore, I’m not. … Recovery, I just have to get a little serious,” she said. “Return to Rio [in 2016], I could do anything. I never needed a tape, nothing. I was like a little hamster on a wheel, always running.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
After Tokyo, Biles took a long break from competition. She attributed her comeback to many people: teammates, therapists, medical staff.
“It really does take a village. So I think we’re all in awe of what I’m doing and I feel like even myself, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’m still doing it. I’m still fit,’ she said. ‘Well let’s go.’
Owens, whom she married in April 2023, will be with her for part of Paris: The Chicago Bears are “actually giving him a few days off from training camp, so he’ll only be there for a short time,” she said.
Asked about his support, like his meme-able reactions watching her during the trial, she said: “I think it’s super exciting that we can be in each other’s element and support each other’s dreams and goals.”
“These are the memories we’re making that we’ll never get back,” she added, “so every time we can show up for each other and support each other, we get super excited because our schedules don’t line up that much.”
Paul Juda cries tears of joy after securing spot on US team for Paris 2024 Olympics: ‘My heart was just pounding’
In a few weeks, the new gymnastics team is preparing to travel to Paris. Their newcomer, Rivera, is only 16 years old.
“We’re definitely going to put her through the ropes.” We’ve been there before. We did it. She is young. I mean — she can’t even drive, should we teach her to drive before she gets to Paris? Biles joked. “Like Jesus, she’s so young.”
“She’s so sweet. She’s so smart. She’s beautiful,” Biles continued. “We’re really proud of her for making this team and we’re really excited to kind of show her what’s possible and at least she doesn’t have to work alone.”
As for her upcoming performances, Biles dismissed the idea that anything she performs in Paris is aimed at those viewers who saw her challenges in Tokyo and mocked her.
“They’re still going to be like, ‘Oh my God, are you going to quit again, are you going to quit again?’ And if I am, what are you going to do about it? Still tweeting me? Like, I’ve already dealt with it for three years,” Biles said. “But yes, they want to see us fail.”
That’s another lesson she’s learned: “They want to see the rise to success, and then as soon as you achieve that and you kind of take it and run with it and start ruling for a very long time, they want to see the fall, which is really unfortunate because the sport hasn’t seen athletes as we have seen before. So you really have to give them their flowers in the sport, because once they’re gone, you’re going to miss them.”
What’s next? That question, which everyone asks all the time, made Biles laugh when PEOPLE brought it up.
Answer: more gymnastics, of course.
“I feel like everyone wants to know what’s next, but what’s next is [the] Gold Over America Tour, in the fall. We’re really excited about it.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education