‘She’s now in a really good place’: Paris a redemption tour for Biles
By Greg Baum
Gymnastics legend Simone Biles is in Paris on a personal “redemption tour”, according to her American team coach, and will not be made to feel that the team is depending on her to succeed.
Having achieved almost mythical status after four gold medals as a 19-year-old at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles shocked the world in Tokyo in 2021 when she developed “the twisties”, a kind of mental block, pulled out of part of the competition and left with two minor medals.
Simone Biles in Tokyo.Credit: AP Photo/Ashley Landis
The only upside was that she and tennis star Naomi Osaka opened up a still-running conversation about mental health in sport.
Chellsie Memmel, herself a competitive gymnast until two years ago, briefly a contemporary of Biles and in Paris as technical lead of the US women’s team, said Biles would be left to pick and choose.
“I think one of the things we don’t say to her is that you are keeping us all together. We’re relying on you and you alone,” Memmel said. “I’ve had a conversation already talking about team finals and what the expectation on Simone is. If she doesn’t feel like it’s going to be in our best interest to do all four events that day, is that an option for her? Absolutely.
“If that’s what she needs to continue to be at her best for her team and for herself, that’s what we’re going to do because there are still four other members on our team.
Simone Biles at this year’s Olympic trials.Credit: AP
Memmel said the option for Biles to step back was what mattered. “Now whether she takes it or not, it’s going to be completely up to her,” she said. “We also talked about that with her at worlds last year. She ultimately decided to do all four events during the finals. But I think just for her knowing that that is a possibility, I think that helps.”
Remembering Tokyo, Memmel said her enduring sentiment about Biles is pride. “She put her health first in Tokyo. I know that’s not how she foresaw the competition going,” she said. “But I think she did what was best for her. And everybody in Team USA understood that and supported that decision.
“She was able to take a couple of years off gymnastics and decided to come back. I think she’s now in a really good place. She’s more excited about gymnastics, she’s enjoying it. I think this is a redemption for her.”
However, it’s inescapable that both the spotlight and the burden will fall on Biles after a disastrous US trials in June in which leading hopes Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely, and Kayla DiCello all were injured and forced out of the Olympics. It means a swag of medals will be a long reach away.
The IOC has made mental health experts and counsellors available to all athletes in Paris, the US Olympic team and gymnastics team have more with them, and some gymnasts have brought help of their own.
For Olympics news, results and expert analysis sent daily throughout the Games, sign up for our Sport newsletter.