After her two-year break, Simone Biles is making a comeback to gymnastics. She left to prioritize her mental health and personal life, “walking away from the Olympic Games was a win in itself” Biles said “I know a lot of people thought I failed because they expected me to go out with five or six medals, but walking out of it was my biggest win.” Biles became a mental health advocate and a leotard designer, later getting married to football player Jonathan Owens in early 2023.
Ever since September, Biles has been putting in the work to recover. ‘I always kind of knew that I would come back as soon as everything that happened in Tokyo” said Biles “I feel grateful that I get this opportunity to come back out here and compete in front of a crowd because I truly didn’t believe I’d be back here competing at all”. When asked about why she came back to gymnastics “I think it’s kind of obvious” she said, “pulling out of five finals whenever I know what I’m capable of and knowing what I can do. It was like a mental injury, you know? So something like that, I knew with the proper work and the proper help, I could come back and hopefully have a shot.”
Biles’ first competition after the Tokyo Olympics 2020 was held on Saturday, August 25th, 2023 in San Jose for the US Gymnastics Championships, where gymnasts can qualify for the Olympics. Biles made a triumphant comeback to gymnastics, winning handily in her first competition in two years to pave the way for a potential 12-month buildup to a third Olympics. Out of her four routines, she only made one mistake on the Core Hydration Classic, a gymnastics competition which is a stepping stone to performing for the Olympics, but still won by 5 points. “Everyone that was cheering, made posters and all of that in the crowd, it just made my heart melt that they still believe in me]” she said. “I’m very shocked.”
Her overall rating was 59.1. The highest total throughout the course of two competition days at the U.S. Championships last year was 57.2. On three of the four performances on Saturday, she received the highest score. After temporarily hesitating following a pirouette atop the high bar, which she salvaged without coming off, she finished third on the uneven bars in her first routine. Biles wowed the judges by showing off her immaculate routine, the judges calculated the score based on difficulty and execution, taking account of technique, artistry, and precision. So it’s no surprise, when Biles got a near perfect score.
This is a huge accomplishment for Biles as she is also aiming to break the 90 year old record Biles won by the largest margin ever, which occurred at the 2019 World Championships. She won the all-around competition by 2.1 points over her opponents. The comeback of Simone Biles is exciting to see for many fans, and fans believe Biles will put up a good performance. “[I still get a little bit nervous, but I think it’s just subconscious]” she said “[other than that, I know my body is capable, prepared and all of that stuff, so I just have to trust my training].”
Simone Biles is back and ready to make a better name for herself. Let’s see where she goes now.
