The realm of gymnastics is being plagued by the demon named underpayment. Ahead of the Olympics, controversies have been going wild about how the athletes need to earn a substantial amount of money. As a matter of fact, the gymnasts qualifying for the Olympics do not earn a salary, while the medal holders receive a token amount from the IOC. But amidst the chaos, the name of Cecile Landi is rising like a phoenix from the ashes.

Landi’s new deal with Georgia has indicated a possible shake-up to the underpayment issue. While it is true that Landi is earning a handsome amount, a quick comparison with the highest-paid female NCAA basketball coach will push the dynamics back to square one.

Cecile Landi pushes Georgia’s budget to increase threefold 

Cecile Landi is one of the most popular names in the US gymnastics world. Landi is famous for coaching Madison Kocian and none other than the US gymnastics queen herself, Simone Biles. The duo worked together hand in hand to help Biles attain success and also the 2018 & 2019 world titles back to back. Looking at her immense success, Georgia Gymnastics deemed fit to sign Cecile Landi as their head coach.

According to the reports, Landi has reportedly been given a contract of $340,000 annually. Georgia’s co-head coach, Ryan Roberts, secured a $265,000 deal. Such numbers have clearly indicated a positive change in the monetary dynamics of the game. For example, Georgia’s previously allocated budget for their head coaches amounted to a mere $207,000 per year. But this year, the numbers have tripled, standing at a whopping $605,000.

Apart from these, the younger gymnasts are also getting more traction from the sponsors. An upward spike of NIL deals has also made things quite interesting. Unfortunately, Cecile Landi’s salary might be a huge boost, but it still is significantly less compared to the highest-paid NCAA women’s coach.

Kim Mulkey and Dawn Staley earn big as Caitlin Clark bags NIL jackpot

Kim Mulkey earns the highest bucks when it comes to the NCAA women. Earning a staggering $3.264 million per year, the LSU Tigers’ coach is one of the most respected figures in the discipline. Likewise, South Carolina Gamecocks’ coach, Dawn Staley has been earning $2.9m annually since 2021 and has secured a whopping 7 year contract. With such names putting in their relentless efforts, women’s basketball witnessed unprecedented growth this year. Boasting an average viewership of 18.7 million, the numbers peaked during the final at 24 million.

Carrying forward the good graces, the NCAA women’s basketball saw the emergence of a star in Caitlin Clark. Clark was impressive throughout the season and has also landed herself a thumping deal with Nike, amounting to $28 million. Thus, as the NCAA’s financial ecosystem witness a surge, it is only a matter of time before gymnastics will also rake up impressive numbers to support their athletes.

It seems to be fate intertwined with the paths of Simone Biles and Fred Richard. On one side of the coin, Biles was bright and bubbly child, couldn’t sit still and loved spending hours flipping and twisting on the trampoline in her grandparents’ backyard. She was interested in the day-care field trip to Bannon’s Gymnastics, at the age of six, and she trained under the tutelage of her coach, Aimee Boorman. Perfecting her game gradually, it saw compete at the elite level in 2011. Conversely, 20-year-old Fred Richard, too, is pinning badges to his lapels steadily.

Likening him to Biles, Richard too had already showed an inclination at a nascent age by watching gymnasts practicing their routines and staring up in fascination, hoping to emulate them one day with his sinews. At 19 years old, he became the youngest male gymnast in U.S. history to win a bronze medal at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, making him the first American person of color to achieve this accomplishment. However, his love for the sport is tied to his childhood home.

Fred Richard may very well be a mirror reflection of Simone Biles

Fred Richard in an interview with Time Magazine has laid out how he got his start in the sport. His mother, Anne-Marie Richard, said, he “literally flipped out of his crib,” and also added, “He was always upside down.” A young Fred observed the gymnasts in his older sister Alexandra’s gym and was fascinated. He would imitate the moves he saw back at his parents’ house. Fred Richard said, “I tried it on my parents’ bed and landed on my head a couple of times, so my parents figured they had better put me in some classes.

His first coach was Tom Fontecchio, who asked his parents to bring him back in a few years when he could follow instructions better. Now Richard has won the NCAA all-around title in 2024, solidifying his status as a rising star in the gymnastics world.

Simone Biles faced a crucial moment when her coach left Bannon’s Gymnastix. She was attached to her coach and hesitant about training under someone else, even if it was her mother, Nellie Biles. Nellie sold her nursing homes to fund a gym for the girls to continue training under Aimee Boorman, but the process was more challenging than expected. She shared, “I had no idea how complicated the whole process would be. It wasn’t anything like the nursing home business.” The experience was quite different from Nellie’s previous business ventures, leading her to express, “If I’d known what wе wеrе gеtting into, wе would nеvеr havе donе this.” But this challenging endeavor led to Biles becoming the unstoppable force she is today, having hosted the Simone Biles Invitational.

After Simone Biles achieved unprecedented success at the 2016 Rio Olympics, her coach Boorman told PEOPLE, “I will always be willing to coach her”,“I will be there as a mentor.” On the other hand, Richard competed at his first elite-level National Championships in 2019, finishing eighth overall but earning a bronze medal in floor exercise behind Nick Kuebler and Khoi Young. Later on, despite being younger than their peers, both quickly surpassed in skill level, mastering advanced techniques that surprised their coaches. However, they also faced setbacks, just as Biles, Richard suffered back injuries that required lengthy recoveries. How does the behemoth games look for them?

The funny banter prevailing between Richard and Biles

Fred Richard and Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast of all time have an undying bond. The talented pair have a bond that involves pulling each other’s legs. During the Covid pandemic, he started posting TikTok videos and amassed a following of 615,000. Last year after his win in the World Championships, where Richard made history by capturing a bronze in the individual all-around, he posted a video on Instagram with the caption, “playing copy with Simone Biles.” The pair tried to imitate each other’s moves in a game ‘who does it better?’ Biles attempts at flares and Richard tries to match Biles’ ‘Tour Jete’ and ‘Wolf Spin’. Richard said her Japanese handstand is, ‘almost better than me’. “That was fun,” wrote Richard in the post.

Fred Richard is all set for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Just as Simone Biles, he’s also going to give it his all. He said, “I have no problem saying that I want to win this Olympics and I want to be in the sport for 10-plus years and dominate, because that’s sports.” This summer, fans will tune in to the Games to see the powerhouse U.S. women, likely headed by Simone Biles, but Richard’s athletic prowess and personality will certainly generate some real excitement for the men’s competition too. Like Simone Biles, Fred acknowledges the significance of being a role model, particularly for young people of color within the gymnastics community.

Simone Biles could hardly believe that things would return to her coincidentally. Things that she feared most. It is the kangaroo court on social media that keeps judging her, irrespective of the situation. Just a few weeks ago, Simone spoke on it at length in the Call Her Daddy podcast. She explained, “It’s like praise everyone, get everything for everyone, and just like sacrifice my body at all costs. And you land on the mat and you’re thinking, what is Twitter saying? Yeah.” Apart from the pressure of not being able to fulfill expectations, that statement distinctly revealed her bitter memories of social media. But her latest post shows, it remains as bitter.

Simone Biles came up on the X again, but not just talking about her mind this time. Rather, she was disgusted apparently at the way people put forward unwarranted opinions or comments.

On May 1, Simone Biles penned, “X is a scary a** place” to flaunt her emotions publicly. It could be the outburst because of the public scrutiny the couple has been going through after Jonathan Owens’ Pivot podcast. Allegedly, his ‘catch’ comment invited flak for being not respectful to his wife. However, Simone didn’t pay heed to such allegations for a duration. Rather, she counted the conversation as JO’s way to ‘be himself’. But things touched the upper ceiling when the Olympian realized what her ’boo’ had been going through all this while.

When they aren’t courtside watching basketball players like Stephen “Steph” Curry or cheering in the stands with friends like Blake Lively, the women standing alongside some of sports’ biggest athletes are making just as big of a name for themselves. Scroll down to take a look at this year’s WAGS (a.k.a. wives and girlfriends) edition of Beauties.

Often joined by famous pals like Blake Lively and Ice Spice, the Grammy-winning singer and cultural juggernaut, 34, turned heads—and drew headlines—rooting for boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs from the stands.

The mom of two and founding co-owner of the Kansas City Current soccer team, 28, cheered on quarterback husband Patrick Mahomes at Chiefs games and was featured in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

Simone Biles

When the Olympian, 27, isn’t putting her gymnastic skills to the test, she can often be found attending husband Jonathan Owens’’s Green Bay Packers games in the team’s colors.

Simone Biles has a not-so-subtle message for anyone who thinks she should leave her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens.

On Thursday, April 25, the most decorated gymnast of all-time leaned all the way into a recent TikTok trend, posting to her personal account a video addressing naysayers who think she should end her marriage to the Chicago Bears safety.

In the video, Biles faces the camera as she tears off a piece of tape while various online comments attacking her husband and their relationship appear on the screen.

The comments include “Mr. Biles,” “Simone & what’s his name again,” “Whose that guy,” “Still don’t know his name,” and “Leave him sis.”

Biles then mouths along to a voiceover from a woman saying: “This is for your mouth. Let me know if you need a bigger piece.” She then mimics placing the tape over someone’s mouth by placing it on the camera.

Simone’s husband faced intense scrutiny and backlash after he claimed he was “the catch” in their relationship during an interview on The Pivot podcast this past December.

“I always say that the men are the catch,” he said at the time, adding that he “was fighting” against his innate fear of commitment before he and Biles officially began dating.

He also claimed he had no idea who Biles was when they first connected, despite her massive success as an Olympic gymnast, which catapulted her into stardom and turned her into a household name.

In a recent interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, Biles opened up about her initial response to her husband’s comments and the backlash he (and her) received as a result.

“I was in the room, I was sitting on the chair,” she said at the time. “You just couldn’t see me on the videos. I was there for the whole entire video. I was feeling great. I was like: ‘My man just killed that.'”

Team USA has always had their holy triumvirate – Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas and Suni Lee, making us proud with their hat doffing-worthy performances. The 2024 American and Hopes Classic will be underway from April 26 and two of these star-studded jewels will be back with a flourish. While the entries have been announced for this edition, a notable name was found missing from the list. US gymnastics queen, Simone Arianne Biles was expected to make an entry at the event. However, that will not be the case. Biles usually starts her Olympic campaign late and she will kick start her journey at the US Classics scheduled for May this year.

What’s also noteworthy is that this event will be a precursor/springboard to the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Although Simone Biles will be absent, there will be no scarcity of star power for the fans to enjoy. Not to disparage the other juggernauts, but we will also be seeing 90 in action artistic gymnasts. Juniors like Myli Lew and Greta Krob, who also coincidentally won the Hopes Classic all-around in 2023, will be up to sweep the mats in the junior division.

Big names like Suni Lee and Gabby Douglas will be sweating it out to perfect their craft ahead of the upcoming Paris Olympics in 2024. Thus, without further ado, here’s a look at some of the prominent athletes that will feature at the American and Hopes Classic 2024, sans Simone Biles. How well will these below mentioned contenders hold the fort for Team USA in the American Classic?

Gabby Douglas looking for redemption 

Gabby Douglas is a 3x Olympic gold medalist. Despite her shining antics at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Douglas decided to take a break for eight years. During this time, she ventured into the media and entertainment industry. Douglas appeared in a number of shows, including a season of ‘The Masked Dancer’, where she won a competition. The Olympian also had the honor of featuring on the covers of the Sports Illustrated and TIMES.

Douglas, now with a pretty long gap in her repertoire but eyes, moves and sinews brimming with passion, said on NBC News – “I’m still a competitor at heart,” and bemoaned that she missed her first calling – gymnastics –“After watching the 2022 championships, I was like I miss competing. … I found myself in the gym, and I was like all right, maybe I could do this again.”

Just when everyone thought that her career was over, she came back with a bang. Or she tried to. Looking to kickstart her journey at the Winter Cup 2024. Unfortunately, tragedy struck once again as she was diagnosed with COVID-19 days before the event.

With no other option left, Douglas pulled out of the tournament with a heavy heart. However, her struggles did not faze her. She continued to grind and finally got a call to the National training camp. And now, come April 26, Gabby Douglas will be looking to gain some much-needed self-assurance going into the Paris Olympics in July. However, Douglas is not the only one looking for a comeback.

Suni Lee looking to put behind dark days 

Life seemed perfect for Suni Lee after she clinched the all-around gold at the Tokyo Olympics toppling Simone Biles. Unfortunately, fate seemed to have different plans for the budding gymnast. Soon after the Olympics, Lee was diagnosed with a severe kidney disease that almost threatened to derail her career. Speaking about her career, Lee stated that both of her kidneys were affected during the process. What is even heartbreaking is the fact that her diagnosis came in late until she got to the fourth stage.

Lee said, “If I had not gotten the other kidney disease, they wouldn’t have found out I had this kidney disease until later on, when I had Stage IV kidney failure.” However, instead of breaking down, Lee made it her mission to make a strong comeback. Along with her coach, Jess Graba, Lee is slowly and steadily gaining back all her lost touch. Suni Lee had once stated that – “I’m not sure if I’m doing American Classic quite yet.” but hopes and adrenaline can change the course of action for a person and that’s exactly what happened with Lee.

In fact, her confidence has made her attempt a feat that very few have had the honor of. She decided to name a move exclusively as ‘The Lee’ ahead of the Paris Olympics. Explaining her move further, Lee stated that it would be a full-twisting, laid out Jaeger on the uneven bars.

This is an element that no one has dared to execute in the past. And as Lee steps into the American and Hopes Classica a few hours from now, she will surely look to give her fans enough reasons to cheer. Now, speaking of athletes returning from injuries, Joscelyn Roberson is a name that comes immediately to mind.

From tears to smiles: The inspiring tale of Joscelyn Roberson

Joscelyn Roberson was full of excitement when she qualified for the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics. Being the youngest member of the team, it was thrilling enough for Roberson to share the locker room with the likes of Simone Biles. And much to her delight, a superb performance from Simone Biles and company got Team USA adorned with the gold medal as well. Sadly, even after winning the gold, Roberson did not have a fairytale ending to her story.

While most fans might have witnessed the young gymnast smiling with the gold, the pain within was unfathomable. Trying to perfect a Cheng vault, Roberson faltered a bit with the movement. And the mess tangled her brutally. After having a terrible landing, Roberson had significant difficulty in walking. With no other options left, her coach, Laurent Landi stepped in and carried her away from the arena. Roberson’s injury ruled her out of the tournament, resulting in more embarrassment.

However, even in her pain, she didn’t refrain from acknowledging Biles and her teammates, who grabbed the gold at the event. Inside Gymnastics reflected the same in their X post. It read, “Joscelyn said she is great. She was feeling all of the emotions after Simone’s floor routine. Finding out Melanie won a bronze with her team was an incredible moment for WCC. “I was crying so many happy tears for all of us!” Unwilling to sit back and sulk, Roberson was itching to get back to her training. She got back to the gym in March 2024 and shared a couple of videos to assure her fans.

The videos portrayed her in her full glory, as she performed breathtaking stunts on the floor and on the bars. Well, Roberson might be returning to the mainstream competition after a gap. But she will give in all her efforts to make sure that she doesn’t leave the arena crying this time. With so many tales of redemption intriguing the fans, they will surely be in for a treat when Jade Carey steps in.

Finally, Simone Biles breaks the barrier! On several occasions, the legendary gymnast has indirectly expressed her discontent about the attack on her husband Jonathan Owens for his comment on the Pivot podcast last year. Jonathan had claimed, “I didn’t know who she[Simone] was at the time”, explaining his first encounter with Simone Biles in 2021. Amid a flurry of negative comments, someone from the crowd called the NFL safety ‘Mr. Biles’. Despite taking a tough stance, Simone made it clear that she couldn’t “clap back” as it could have gone beyond her modesty. But it seems that she has changed her stance in the matter.

In her latest IG story, the Rio Olympic champion went rather straight-faced with her reactions. Showing a leucoplast toward the haters, Simone was heard saying in the accompanying clip, “It’s for your mouth. Let me know if you need a bigger piece”. Also featured in the clip were some comments that read, “Simone and what’s his name again”, “whose that guy”, “leave him sis”. Seems like these were the ones that hurt her the most. Taking the issue head-on in this way appears to have stemmed from a long buildup.

Previously, Jonathan Owens faced huge criticism for not being benevolent enough while expressing his thoughts on his wife. However, JO tried to sprinkle water on the fire by claiming the originality of his emotions. Simone also batted for the same. But in the meantime, the 27-year-old gymnast broke down her emotional state when she realized the depth of the attack JO had been going through after the podcast.

“One night I broke down, and I’m like, why are you guys talking about my husband like this? Yeah. Like you don’t know him,” she confessed in her conversation with Alex Cooper in “Call Her Daddy” podcast recently. Notably, in the same podcast, Simone Biles justified Jonathan Owens’ deeds alongside her support for that.

Simone Biles stands strong, through thick and thin 

Simone Biles had many things to share about the Pivot Podcast and nothing went against Jonathan Owens. “First of all, that interview had nothing to do with me, it was all for him…he has to have his moments, too, and I let him have it,” she said unequivocally. In the NFL field as well, Simone Biles had been seen in the past supporting Jonathan Owens vehemently. After his Chicago move as well, the proud wife went on to display the same support with her posts. Who could forget how Simone presented herself virtually while Jonathan was signing the Chicago contract? Those moments were sealed forever as her own ways to flaunt her love and support for her husband.

“I just want to see my man in that uniform. Give him a little kiss, good luck out there. This is his moment,” Simone claimed. But at the same time, she clarified, “… that’s my boo on the field, I love and support him.” Simone’s latest post once again firmly announced her support for Jonathan Owens. It remains to be seen if that ends the matter or starts a new war again!