As the Paris Olympics 2024 is drawing near, the gymnasts want to make the most of the remaining 158 days. Having said so, one of the first big events of this year, the 2024 Winter Cup will be a kind of warm-up for them. Ahead of the US Olympic Trials and the Nationals, the gymnastic crackerjack Simone Biles is engrossed in her ‘dream house’ construction and strategic gymnastic training. But she dropped off from the upcoming Winter Cup.

Biles is not only training at the Houston World Champions Center for herself but also inspiring the young crowd to follow her steps. Following her, Jordan Chiles, the 26-year-old core compatriot, and a WCC trainee, has withdrawn from the February 24 event. Besides them, which other gymnasts have joined the pull-out list?

Gymnasts who followed Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles

As the push for the Paris Olympics begins, the US gymnasts are on a spree to upgrade their A-games. Aiming to make her third Olympic team and add more to her 7 Olympic medal purse, Biles is pitching up as the hot favorite. Though she has withdrawn from the February event, we can expect her at the US Nationals and Hydration Core Classic. Jordan Chiles, the 2023 Pan-Am Games all-around bronze medalist, is currently on her healing journey after speaking about a minor shoulder injury.

Moving on, Zoe Miller, the 2023 Pan-Am Games uneven bars gold medalist has also backed off in the wake of an injury. As the qualifier event of the US Gymnastics Championships, many would be vying for Winter Cup medals. But Chiles and Miller have no reason to worry after having secured spots already.

To join their tribe, Fred Richard, the history-maker of the men’s gymnastics team, has made headlines as an absentee from the Winter Cup list. He is also sitting out ‘due to minor injuries’, but will reappear in the next events. So, who do we root for then?

Suni Lee and Gabby Douglas are the comeback favorites

Olympian Gabby Douglas hasn’t hit the gymnastic mat since she walked home with the team gold in 2016. On the other hand, Suni Lee, who has been battling kidney issues, hasn’t been competing since the 2023 Nationals. But along with coach Jess Graba, she’s not only looking to bag medals but also preparing for her skill-naming (full-twisting, layout Jaeger on the uneven bars) ceremony in Baku at the next meet.

We have eyes on these two gymnastic phenoms this year, but also wish to witness big names like Yul Moldauer and Leanne Wong in action. If Lee manages to look past her health issues and go all in, she has a fair chance of nabbing her second Olympic all-around gold. But the 4x gold medalist Biles is also in no mood to be so generous.

Afaction of Simone Biles fans are continuing to take aim at her husband, Jonathan Owens, days after the NFL star sparked outrage by saying he had no idea who the gymnast was when she first met him.

Biles, who is the most decorated gymnast in history and widely considered the greatest of all time, is married to Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens. The pair started dating in 2020 after they met on the celebrity dating app Raya. They tied the knot in March of this year.

On a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, Owens revealed he had never paid attention to gymnastics, and when Biles made the first move on the dating app they were using, he had never heard of the four-time Olympic gold medalist before.

When host Ryan Clark asked Owens if he considered himself “the catch” in their relationship, Owens quickly responded: “I always say that the men are the catch.” He also said that he had been “afraid to commit.”
“Literally had been on the app for a couple of days, man, and it’s like she pops up and, I’m like ‘Let me see who this is.’ I had never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity,” Owens said during the interview.

“I go do my workout, and I come back and I had some likes on my Instagram. I still waited and then I come back to my phone, and then she messaged me on the app like, ‘Hey.'”

He added: “I didn’t know who she was at the time, but the first thing that I saw was that she just had a bunch of followers so in my mind, I’m like, ‘OK, she got to be good.'”

Explaining how he had never heard of Biles, Owens said that when she was collecting medals at the Rio Olympics in 2016, he didn’t have access to the networks that aired the games.

“When she won the Olympics, I was in college and we didn’t have NBC, we didn’t have Olympics channels and we’re in camp,” he said. “So I’m not paying attention to, I never would have had a moment to where I would have watched.”

The backlash came thick and fast for Owens in recent days, as fans compared their levels of fame, and others accused the football player of misogyny. And, it appears, the fans remain furious.

Biles took to Instagram on December 25 to share a trio of romantic photos that showed her celebrating Christmas Day with Owens. Wearing matching pajamas, the two were shown kissing in front of a white Christmas tree in one image, while another showed them sharing festive drinks.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS,” Biles wrote, to which Owens responded in the comments section: “First married Christmas,” along with two red heart emojis. Owens also shared similar photos on his Instagram account.

Taking aim at Owens over his recent comments, one Instagram user said: “Look, it’s the most decorated US gymnast in US Olympic history! And her… catch?”

“Merry Christmas to Simone Biles and Simone Biles’ husband who I never heard of until he married Simone Biles [because] NFL is only a thing in America but the whole world knows Olympians,” commented another.

“Not sure who that man is, but I do recognize the legendary Simone Biles!” another chimed in. “Merry Christmas to you girl!”

“Here is the most known and respected athlete in US… and there is her husband by her side,” commented another.

Simone Biles is yet to make a steady comeback in the Olympic year. However, in keeping her fans stuck to her everlasting ingenuity, the gymnastic starlet has showcased several exhibitions of her moves on the beam and floor this year. Even so, the usual yet majestic wizardry from Simone Biles has been increasing heat, leaving less room for doubting the prowess that once lit the floor in Antwerp, 11 years back.

After claiming the platform of the World Championship in Antwerp in 2013, she continued to take the superlative forms on every exercise in the century-old artistic gymnastics sports. In 2020, a mental block impeded her fairly running on the trot. But soon, after serving 2 years away from the sporting affair, the gymnastics dutch returned to the floor to continue things her way. So, in this Black History Month, here’s a look back to those happenings, recalling Simone Biles’ victories and setbacks.

Simone Biles’s shrewd memory let her remember the triumph

Last year, evading her constraints in the outer world and mental struggles, Simone Biles competed in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship. Despite this, she triumphed in Antwerp, securing four gold medals, including one for her all-around performance, reminiscent of her first win in 2013. In a recent Instagram post, the 4x Olympic gold medalist reflected on the significance of the 2013 victory. But before coming to that, in an astounding emotional rollercoaster, Simone Biles conceded the reason for returning to Antwerp through thick and thin. “Doing it for the little girl who fell in love with the sport!!!!!” was her choice of sentences to express the reason.

Eventually, Simone Biles had one of her moves named after her on the same platform. The vault exercise, known as the Yurchenko entry on-double piked backwards off, was renamed ‘Biles II’. With a difficulty level of 6.4, it became the fifth move named after the legend. The first move, ‘Biles’, was also named at the same venue in 2013. However, these unrivaled achievements looked bleak in front of the two-year hiatus that kept Simone Biles doubting her prowess.

The tale mixed setbacks once 

However, the battle-tested gymnast realized that her body and mind were not aligned. While attempting the Amanar vault, Simone gave up after completing only one and a half twists instead of the required two and a half. This led to her experiencing ‘Twisties’, a common issue for habitual athletes like her. Concerned about the impact on her performance, Simone made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Games. Discussing that situation, the Olympic champion conceded once, “I felt like a failure.” Even after that untimely move, Simone Biles wasn’t shy to discuss her situation at a later time, spreading awareness of mental health.

Her husband Jonathan Owens and the possible help from her loved ones had thoroughly helped her to register a comeback in 2023. So, once returning to the usual sporting affair, the 26-year-old conceded, “I’m fine. I’m twisting again. No worries. All is good.” After that, in Antwerp, she proved her supremacy by clinching the medals.

Within the realm of gymnastics, most of us are notably aware of Jordan Chiles’ fervent passion to hype her friends, especially Simone Biles. Keen on uplifting their spirits during performances, the 22-year-old has lived up to her tag of being the “hype woman.” Especially the moments of shared bonding between the dynamic duo “Biles and Chiles,” exemplify her supportive energy. Who can forget the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics when Simone Biles pulled out of the team final?

It was Jordan Chiles who stood up for Biles and led the team to silver. Jordan Chiles has never faltered to boost up Biles with her contagious energy. Recently, she took to share a throwback into the historic moment with Biles.

Biles and Chiles are always there for each other

Resharing the story by GK Elite, Jordan Chiles took to her Instagram handle to once again reminisce the moment from the 2023 Xfinity US Gymnastics National Championship. GK Elite captioned it, “Throwback to an incredible moment in history with two of the strongest women @jordanchiles @simonebiles.”

The highly anticipated Winter Cup is looming at the door of gymnastics prowess. While many are taking part and rigourously preparing for it, other major names in the world of bars are withdrawing themselves. One of the most decorated gymnasts of all time,

Simone Biles, is not going to compete. Following her path, the promising new athlete Zoe Miller also announced her termination as well.

The event is creating excitement among the fans but also coming up with several uncertain news revolving around it. It is not only them but a couple of other gymnasts, like Jordan Chiles and many more, who have taken a step back from the event. To lighten up the audience, Miller has recently shared an adorable moment with her idol on social media.

A sneak-peak for the followers after Miller’s departure

Recently, Miller shared a story on her Instagram where she could be seen practicing on the mat beside Simone Biles. She humorously captioned the picture, “Ya’ll shoulda seen my balancing act with the roller.” Previously, she took to Instagram to share the news about her abolition of the competition. She shared a story with the caption, “With much disappointment, I wanted to share with you all that my participation in this year’s Winter Cup is no longer feasible due to an injury.”

Considering her impressive track record, Miller’s absence at the Winter Cup will be highly felt by her fans. Talking about her record, she has clinched the title of uneven bars champion at the 2023 Winter Cup. She has also coveted a gold medal under the same title, along with team events at the 2023 Pan American Games.

The Winter Cup serves as a platform to select juniors and senior members of national teams for the 2024 U.S. Gymnastics Championship. Thus, the enthusiast is now waiting to witness the performances of athletes like Suni Lee, Kayla DiCello, Lexi Zeiss, and Gabby Douglas, who will be participating after eight years of hiatus.

From training companions to gymnastics stars

Despite missing out on the competition, Miller is focused on maintaining her long-term goals, where she will be representing the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Under Biles’ mentorship, she has always showcased her potential on the international stage. They both shared a training center at the World Champions, which was originally founded by Biles’ parents and is situated in Texas.

In an interview with ChinaDaily.com, Miller said, “I think I admire her human qualities more than her gymnastics.” The 18-year-old added, “Just because I know her on a way deeper level than most people do. She’s very humble and she’s very caring and is always looking out for me.” Not only do they share the same team and practice center, but they also have an unbreakable bond between them. Now the fans are preparing themselves to witness their resilience at the upcoming big event.