Simone Biles, one of the most decorated gymnasts in history, is gearing up for a remarkable return at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

After a challenging Tokyo 2020 Games, Biles is now motivated by a deeply personal source as she prepares to compete on the world stage once again.

Biles’ journey in gymnastics began at the age of 6 during a daycare field trip. Her early passion for the sport quickly translated into an illustrious career, filled with numerous medals and accolades from global competitions.

Despite her success, Biles remains driven by the same passion that fueled her as a young girl.

Recently, she shared an Instagram story featuring a picture of her younger self, captioned, “doing it for her. Small girl, big dreams,” highlighting her enduring dedication to gymnastics.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics were particularly tough for Biles, as she faced mental health challenges that led to her withdrawal from several events. Known as the “twisties,” this condition affects gymnasts’ spatial awareness during their routines.

Despite these hurdles, Biles made a triumphant return to competition, winning bronze in the balance beam final after adjusting her routine to ensure safety.

A New Approach for Paris 2024

For the Paris Olympics, Biles has adopted a more intentional and holistic approach. In interviews, she has emphasized the importance of mental and physical health, making sure to prioritize therapy and self-care alongside her rigorous training.

This approach has allowed her to return to the top of her sport, performing complex elements like the Yurchenko double pike, a vault only she can execute successfully.

Biles‘ family, especially her mother Nellie Biles, has been a constant source of support. During the Tokyo Games, her family stood by her decision to prioritize mental health over competition.

Now, they are in Paris to cheer her on, providing emotional support as she aims to reclaim her position at the top.

Additionally, her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, has been a visible supporter, attending her competitions and offering encouragement.

Simone Biles‘ journey to the Paris 2024 Olympics is a testament to her resilience and dedication. Her story continues to inspire fans around the world, proving that even at the pinnacle of success, one must prioritize health and well-being.

As Biles competes in Paris, she carries with her the dreams of the young girl who started it all, driven by passion and supported by a loving family.

With her eyes set on adding more medals to her collection, Biles is poised to captivate audiences and solidify her legacy as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.

The Netflix series Simone Biles Rising is, on the one hand, exactly what you would expect: a documenting of Biles’ remarkable career, with an emphasis on her unexpected withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were delayed until 2021) and her preparation for the Paris Olympics, which are under way.

Much of the story is well-known, particularly her utter dominance of her sport in the last decade or so. And it’s not the first time anyone has tried to shed light on the mental health vulnerabilities of elite athletes, even at the Olympics: That’s also the topic of the HBO film The Weight of Gold (which I highly recommend). What makes this series timely is that it works as something of an education, or at least a reminder, for audiences just as the Olympics start. The message: We don’t know these athletes.

When Biles dropped out of most of the competition in Tokyo, some things were known. She talked about having “the twisties,” a condition familiar to gymnasts in which the athlete loses the ability to know and control where they are in the air. But a lot of commentators and social media jerks, as you see in the series, blew off that explanation and declared she should have just pushed through, that she just quit, and that a strong person would have continued on no matter what.

What many people featured in the series make clear is that when the twisties hit an athlete, the risk is not just that you’ll be embarrassed or lose. As 1992 Olympic medalist Betty Okino says — with a little reluctance, because she doesn’t want to scare young gymnasts — you can die. If you can’t land on your feet and you instead land on your head, you can die. If you’ve ever seen baseball players struggle with the yips and keep throwing wildly no matter how many therapies they have attempted, or if you idolize athletes who play hurt in general, think about whether they’d keep doing it if every errant throw was potentially life-threatening.

Biles is also quite open about the fact that the contemptuous and vicious way commentators like Jason Whitlock spoke about her (they still do!) took a toll. She acknowledges at one point that it was a good idea for her to turn off Instagram comments, and that she’s removed Twitter (now X) from her phone a couple of times when she needs to.

But perhaps the most useful thing she does in the series is create context for her comeback. Yes, you get to see how she showed up in competition again in 2023 and performed very, very well, at 26 – an age when she says she thought she’d be retired. But while the timing of Olympic competition can be brutal — if you miss your moment, you don’t get another one for years — it also means that if you need to recover, you have the time. After Tokyo in 2021, Biles and her coach say she didn’t really get underway in the gym again for about a year and a half. The coach says that the only real cure for the twisties is to take time off and try to work on your general well-being, including your mental health. And so that’s what she did.

She went to therapy; in fact, she convinced her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, to go to a sports psychologist, too, and he speaks about how useful it’s been in his own career. She spent time processing trauma in her life, including the fact that she was one of many gymnasts who came forward to acknowledge sexual abuse by Team USA doctor Larry Nassar, part of a very long story that publicly unfolded mostly between her 2016 and 2021 Olympic appearances. And she talks about the fact that when she did come back to the gym, it was not with a glorious fanfare and a delighted spring in her step. She was scared and discouraged. Before competing at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, she says this: “Mostly, I’m trying not to die.”

One possible lesson to take away from the series — perhaps the simplest one — is “Simone Biles is awesome; look how she fought to come back.” And that certainly appears to be true. But the other lesson is a bit more complicated: Athletes are just people. They don’t follow neat paths, necessarily. For Biles, coming back took time. She was sometimes ambivalent. The ultimate outcome is not assured. Handling the kind of negativity she faces is something she’s working on.

Elite athletes (including super-elite athletes, which is the only phrase that really captures Biles’ place in her sport) have limits. Top men’s tennis player Jannik Sinner isn’t playing in the Olympics because of tonsillitis, and mental health is just capable of interrupting a competition. Tennis phenom Naomi Osaka has faced criticism similar to what’s been directed at Biles when she’s taken care of her own health by taking a step back. (Notably, they are both women of color; there is some smart discussion of the role of race in the Biles film, too.)

So whether they meet their goals or not, much of what Olympians feel and experience is unknowable unless and until they choose to explain it. It may look like just grit and triumph or grit and disappointment, but in fact, it’s more impressive to remember that they’re complicated people with a lot going on, even when they’re not performing.

Simone Biles is poised to make a stunning comeback during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The gymnastics superstar is a favorite to dominate the gymnastics finals, including the all-around, vault and floor events.

Biles is making her third Olympic appearance after the “twisties,” a phenomenon where gymnasts lose their place in the air, forced her to drop out of multiple events during the Tokyo Olympics. Biles earned one bronze medal that year, and has seven total Olympic medals.

Since then, Biles has set multiple records, taking home her sixth world all-around title in 2023. She’s the most decorated gymnast in history, having earned 37 medals across the world championships and the Olympics and nine all-around national titles. Biles also has five moves named after her.

While Biles has already made her mark on the gymnastics world, it’s possible she could break even more records during the Paris Olympics. Here’s what to know.

What records could Simone Biles break in Paris?

In Paris, Biles could break the record for the most Olympic gold medals earned by an American gymnast. The current record holder is Anton Heida, with five gold medals. Biles, who has four golds, would need to win two gold medals to beat that.

However, Biles needs just one medal to surpass Shannon Miller to become the most decorated American Olympic gymnast. Miller and Biles each have seven Olympic medals of any color.

The 27-year-old could also set a record as the oldest female American gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics. That record is currently held by Aly Raisman, who won two gold medals in 2016 when she was 22 years old.

Biles might also set a record outside the gymnastics world. If she takes home a whopping five gold medals in Paris, she can break the record for most gold medals taken home by any female American athlete. Swimmer and eight-time gold medal winner Jenny Thompson currently holds the record.

US gymnastics great Simone Biles is aiming to have a sixth unique skill named for her, a new move on the uneven bars that she will unveil at the Paris Olympics.

The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Friday that Biles had submitted the original skill to the technical committee.

If she completes it successfully during the Games it would be the sixth skill named for Biles and give her one on every apparatus. She has two skills named for her on vault, two eponymous tumbling skills on floor exercise and one balance beam dismount.

FIG described the skill as “a clear hip circle forward with 1 1/2 turns to handstand”, saying it was a variation on a skill first done by Canadian Wilhelm Weiler.

The move would see her circle her body below one bar, rising back into a handstand and then pirouetting 1 1/2 times before stopping in the handstand.

The federation said Biles is likely to do the new skill at the beginning of her uneven bars routine.

If Biles completes the skill, she’ll be the only active female gymnast to have at least one skill named for her on all four apparatuses.

Skills are named for the first gymnast who does them successfully at a major international meet.

Biles, the winner of four gold medals in Rio de Janeiro whose Tokyo Olympics was cut short by a debilitating bout of the “twisties,” launches her Paris campaign in Sunday in the women’s qualifications.

Nellie Kim, a five-time Olympic gold medallist for the former Soviet Union, is the woman with the most eponymous skills, with seven named for her.

Other women aiming to have original elements named for them in Paris included Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who has submitted a Yurchenko triple twisting vault.

Lieke Wevers and Naomi Visser of the Netherlands will both attempt a triple turn with one leg held horizontally on floor exercise.

If the two teammates both complete the move the element will bear both their names.

While you saw Steph Curry, LeBron James, Kelsey Plum, Coco Gauff, and a number of Team USA’s other superstars at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics, one missing megastar was Simone Biles.

Simone Biles’ mother announced Friday that Simone would be skipping the Opening Ceremony’s floating Parade of Nations to rest up for her competitions, but did stress the gymnast is feeling good.

“The first competition is Sunday, which is woman’s qualifier, and of course she needs to rest up before that competition,” Simone’s mother, Nellie Biles, told NBC News’ Hoda Kotb during the live ceremony broadcast.

“She is feeling really good. Spoke to her this morning and she’s doing great.”

Nellie Biles said Simone is happy her family and support group of 17 strong will be there to cheer her on in Paris.

July 28 – Team Qualifying: Simone Biles will first compete on Sunday, July 28 in team qualifying events begin at 3:30 a.m. ET. The early events will be available on Peacock with the later events that morning available on NBC New York. The event will air again that evening in Primetime on NBC.

July 30 – Women’s team final: The women’s team final begins at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30. You can watch it on NBC and stream every apparatus on Peacock.

Aug. 1 – Women’s all-around final: The women’s all-around final begins at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1.

Aug. 3 – Women’s vault final: The women’s vault final begins at 10:20 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3 on NBC and Peacock.

Aug. 4 – Women’s uneven bar final: The women’s uneven bars final begins at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, Aug 4 on NBC and Peacock.

Aug. 5 – Women’s balance beam finals: The women’s balance beam finals begins at 6:36 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 5.

Aug. 5 – Women’s floor exercise finals: The women’s floor exercise final begins at 8:20 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 5.

Simone’s participation in making any finals is contingent on her reaching the finals. She likely will not participate in all the individual events.

You can see the full Olympics schedule here.

How to watch individual gymnastics at the 2024 Olympics

Individual gymnastics at the 2024 Olympics will air on NBC New York, USA Network and E!. Streaming will be available on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC Olympics app and the NBC app.

How to watch Simone Biles at the 2024 Olympics

The four-time gold medalist will participate in at least three individual events in Paris, giving her the opportunity to nearly double her gold medal count.

Biles will participate in the women’s all-around and women’s floor exercise competitions, as well as the women’s balance beam competition.

The Olympic legend won gold in the women’s all-around and women’s floor exercise competitions in 2016 in Rio, and also earned bronze in the women’s balance beam competition that same year.

Here are the times you can expect to see Biles at the 2024 Olympics (all times ET).

Where will gymnastics events be held at the Paris Olympics?

The gymnastics events will be held at Bercy Arena, built in 1984, but renovated between 2015 and 2015, according to the Olympics website, which said it hosts men’s tennis, handball tournaments, and concerts, among other events.

The last time Simone Biles attempted to vault in a competition arena at the Olympic Games, all hell broke loose. As Biles launched herself into her extremely difficult Amanar vault, she completely lost track of herself in the air, only managing one and a half twists instead of the planned two and a half. After withdrawing from the team final, Biles would spend most of her Olympic experience in the stands.

Three years on, Biles returned to the Olympic competition floor on Thursday morning as the women’s gymnastics teams worked their way through podium training, the one chance that gymnasts will have to train inside the Bercy Arena before the gymnastics competitions begin with the men’s qualifications on Saturday.

In her third rotation of the day, Biles flitted down the vault runway before launching herself on to the springboard with a back handspring. The 27-year-old increased her upward momentum by rebounding off the top of the vault table and wrapping in two piked backwards somersaults. She landed with her chest upright, her feet completely still: “Perfect! We’ll take this one in a heartbeat. It was really good,” said a smiling Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, one of Biles’s coaches, afterwards.

Days before the gymnastics competition begins, Biles has already produced one of the greatest pieces of gymnastics the Olympics has ever seen. Her Yurchenko Double Pike vault, which has been officially known as the Biles II since she unveiled it internationally at the world championships last year, is one of the hardest skills in the sport. No other female gymnast in the world vaults with enough power, strong technique or repulsion off the table to even think about attempting the vault. It is also one of the most difficult vaults in the men’s code of points.

Difficult skills are often produced at the detriment of form and technique, with gymnasts often having to force their hardest skills around, leading to issues like crossed legs or low chests on their landing which receive significant judging deductions. Not only has Biles shown that she can consistently perform the vault, she does so with near impeccable form, her legs squeezed tightly together and completely straight at the knee.

The Biles II requires no twisting and so last year, as she began her comeback after taking a break from the sport, Biles opted to re-introduce the vault in part because she still lacked confidence in her twisting following the mental block she suffered in Tokyo. It is reflective of Biles’s greatness that her idea of easing her way back into the sport was attempting one of the most difficult skills possible.

Such is the challenge this vault presents, Biles still had to mentally come to terms with executing it. Having debuted the vault in US competitions in 2019, last year Biles only attempted it with her other coach, Laurent Landi, standing beside her on the competition podium. Gymnasts receive an automatic neutral deduction of .5 points if their coach is on the competition floor during the routine.

After nailing the vault throughout last summer, Biles fell attempting it in the world championships vault final and she finished in second place behind Rebeca Andrade of Brazil. Even her errors are somehow impressive; she fell because she actually had too much power for the skill. The vault commands such a high start value (6.4) that without the automatic half-point deduction, Biles would have won the vault final with a fall. This year, with many more months of training behind her, she now attempts the skill without any coach nearby.

The objective of podium training is for gymnasts to adjust to the equipment on the field of play, which often feels significantly different on an elevated podium, and the dynamics of the arena as they finish their preparations. It was clear from Biles’s performance on Thursday that she was ready and relaxed on all pieces as she worked her way through the four apparatus with no issues.

While Biles was focused on the job at hand, she also laughed and chatted with her teammates Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, the former three gymnasts all returning from Tokyo to form one of the most experienced teams the US has ever boasted.

After a strong day of training, the US team, led by Biles, marched through the weaving mixed zone without stopping, their coaches delegated to speak with the media. They have been here before and in the qualification round on Sunday morning they will attempt to re-establish their dominance at the Olympics.

Before the 2024 Paris Olympics officially began, Simone Biles sent a message to the competition, posting a flawless vault from a practice session that would leave her competitors shaking in their boots, or leotards.

Simone Biles sticks signature move and lets everyone see

That’s Biles, already a 4-time Olympic gold medalist, casually landing the Yurchenko Double Pike, a vault move so difficult that it has never been done at the Olympic Games.

Biles didn’t just land it. She stuck it. And she certainly did not need to post the video to her Instagram story for her fellow gymnasts to know that she is the one to beat on the vault. But she did it anyway.

She accompanied the video with a single emoji: a bullseye. Biles has her eyes on gold, and she’s not referring to archery.

What is the Biles II?

The back handspring onto the springboard followed by two backflips in a straight-leg pike has a simpler name to the public: the Biles II. It one of several moves she has named after her, and the one she hopes will help her make history in Paris.

U.S. gymnast Simone Biles, the most decorated man or woman her sport has ever seen, has made it no secret that she wants redemption at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“This is definitely our redemption tour,” said Biles at the recent U.S. Olympic trials. “I feel like we all have more to give… I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes, we’re more mature, we’re smarter, we’re more consistent.”

Tuesday (23 July) in the French capital, Biles and Team USA took one more step toward showing the world that and reclaiming the Olympic team title, as she worked through a confident and sharp practice session.

The U.S. team arrived nearly 30 minutes prior to the start of their workout, stretching, chatting and laughing in their blue and black warm-up jackets and black tights as they waited to begin their official practice.

When noon hit, the focus ramped up but there were still moments of levity especially from Biles who was often seen laughing with teammates Jordan Chiles or Jade Carey. At one point during her balance beam workout, Biles even stopped on the apparatus to watch the uneven bars of Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour, the reigning world silver medallist on the event and a favourite for multiple medals in Paris.

“Come on!” Biles could be heard cheering as Nemour performed.

Across the four events, Biles looked extremely solid with a very small issue on her opening sequence in her balance beam routine the only area of any concern.

Her floor exercise, where she is a six-time world champion and the Rio 2016 gold medallist, was the highlight of the session. As her Taylor Swift music blared inside the Le Bourget Exhibition Centre training hall, Biles matched the grandeur of the music with a spectacular triple-twisting double back flip.

Biles and the U.S. women’s first competition in Paris is set for Sunday (28 July).

Read below for full training notes on all of Team USA.

Simone Biles endured a tough time at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 due to mental health struggles, but after a two-year hiatus she returned and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. USA gymnastic technical lead Chellsie Memmell cut a confident figure when discussing Biles and her team-mates chances, with the tournament now less than a week away.