She hadn't even entered the stadium yet. She was sitting with her training jacket on, waiting for the team to be given the order to enter. Serious, with her left leg bandaged due to discomfort. When her image appeared on the screens, the ovation began, the first of many, for Simone Biles. When she entered, the stadium shook. She acknowledged it, opening her powerful smile and waving. The gesture was met with an even greater cheer.
The greatest gymnast of all time has made a grand return to the Olympic arena, three years after her withdrawal from the Tokyo Games due to mental health issues. Her comeback generated much anticipation, and Biles currently leads in the individual all-around, beam, floor, and vault, only being surpassed by several rivals on the uneven bars, the only apparatus where she has never won an Olympic medal.
Her explosive 4 feet 8 inches and radiant smile have a magnetic effect. Cameras follow her every move, every gesture is acclaimed and interpreted. Whether she is serious or smiling. Her bun is not perfectly neat like her teammates, but rather messy. She adjusts her hairpins before starting. She begins on the bars, the same apparatus where her Olympic experience in Tokyo ended.
"It's amazing to have been here and witness the return of the greatest athlete of all time," says Joe, who came from San Francisco exclusively to see the American's return in Paris. "It's curious because she is tiny, but powerful, she is a true goddess," notes his wife.
Biles entered the stadium in her radiant leotard and messy ponytail, marked her spots on the bars before the competition, and greeted the audience. The attraction is such that it overshadows the rest: While she was training on the bars and the Italian team athlete was performing her floor routine, the audience was applauding Biles. "It has been a spectacle. It's like watching Taylor Swift in concert," says Laure, a French woman who came to see her with her daughter, both with their faces painted in the colors of the French flag.
In the stadium, besides the star Biles, there were others who wanted to see her return to the top. Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, Ariana Grande, Snoop Dogg, and Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor-in-chief, were present. "I have followed her forever. It was a dream for me to see her in these Games; I was very sad when she withdrew in Japan," explains Julia, who came from Kentucky with her husband and daughters to see the gymnast.
In the floor exercise, she danced in the air to the rhythm of Taylor Swift. The uneven bars are the only apparatus where Biles has no medal. It was the last in the rotation: Biles entered and performed her twists with confidence. After finishing her routine, she turned and looked at the stands, filled with US flags, then raised her arms and smiled. The crowd roared. She hugged her teammates and her coach, the Frenchwoman Cecile Landi.
A legion of American media followed her as she headed to the locker room. Her coach came out to speak, and the journalists crowded around. Right next to them, one of the Chinese gymnasts who had just competed was giving statements to two or three journalists, but the crowd was not with the athlete, they were listening to what Cecile Landi had to say.
"I can't express it (the joy), I am very proud of her, of what has happened, and of what she is showing the world she is capable of," she said. Biles will not hold any press conferences until the competitions are over.
The athlete withdrew from the Tokyo Games in 2021 due to mental health issues. By openly discussing the topic, she has brought visibility to this issue among athletes. After a break, she resumed training and returned at the 2023 World Championships in Belgium, where she won four gold medals.
In total, she has 37 medals (between World Championships and Olympics) and could add six more in the team events on Tuesday, the individual all-around on Thursday, and in the finals on August 3, 4, and 5. Additionally, Biles, who has five signature moves, aims to add a sixth named after her in Paris, this time on the uneven bars, the apparatus where she has yet to achieve glory.