Simone Biles will make her much anticipated return to competitive gymnastics in August. The seven-time Olympic medalist shocked the world at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when she withdrew from multiple events to focus on her mental health.
She last spoke about competing again in September 2021 on her Gold Over America tour but she still sounded unsure. Biles got married in May to NFL defensive back Jonathan Owens, who signed with the Green Bay Packers in May as well. She will now look to get her career back on track and try to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
She’s Back!
Billes will compete in a single-day event at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, near Chicago on Aug. 5. Her return seem unlikely after her comments in 2021.
“Right now, I’m trying to take it one step at a time. I really feel like I haven’t fully got to process Tokyo yet,” she told Olympics.com during her Gold Over America tour in September 2021. “So, once I fully understand and process that, I’m sure it’ll lead me towards which direction I want to go towards.”
She continued, “In the back of my head, it’s like. ‘Yeah, I’m going to do it’ but then my body and everything else tells me no. I have to gauge it. I’m not sure yet.”
In 2021, Biles withdrew from competition after revealing she was dealing with “the twisties” — a gymnastics term used for when an athlete loses their spatial awareness while airborne.
She did return in the 2021 Olympics and won the bronze medal in the balance beam final. It tied Shannon Miller’s record for most Olympic medals by an American female gymnast.
History in the Making
The 26-year-old would be the oldest woman in two decades to qualify for the Olympics if she qualified in 2024. Anna Hatch was 26 during the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Biles would also be the last U.S. female gymnast since Dominique Dawes to qualify at least three times for the Olympics.
In addition, Biles and Sunisa Lee would make history as the only pair of U.S. gymnasts to be on the same team as winners of Olympic all-around competition if both were to qualify in 2024.
Biles will have a chance to break Miller’s record for most Olympic medals if she were to qualify and win one competition at the 2024 Olympics. First things first, Biles must prove to herself and fans that she still can get it done in August.
