The world championships held last week helped several teams and individuals qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Games lineup is filling the last of spots with its next stop being the Pan American Games. For many American athletes who wish to compete in the Olympics, the Pan American Games will be vital. Particularly, the senior women’s gymnastics roster was divided into two groups: Worlds and Pan-American. After a two-year absence, Simone Biles made a historic comeback, leading the U.S. team to win their seventh straight title.

Meanwhile, Jordan Chiles is back to bring her prowess on the Pan-American mats after the 2022 Worlds-qualified win. However, just days ahead of the major event, Chiles joined a billion-dollar sponsor to reveal some unfiltered thoughts.

Simone Biles’ gymnastics bestie spills some beans

“You have the potential to do anything you put your mind to,” Nike captioned their Instagram post tagging Jordan Chiles, their sponsored athlete. The reel captured the unadulterated feelings of the all-around headed to Pan American in a fun video. In the billion-dollar brand’s feature, she revealed, “I wanted to quit.” Chiles admitted to feeling discontented earlier in 2017, following her exclusion from the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team headed to the world championships.

In the “showing your true self video,” Chiles questioned the girls, “What triggers you to feel down on yourself when people are coming at you?”  A girl replied: “There’s a lot of pressure in society to fit in with the norm.”

The gymnast told the girls, “There’s a lot of people who surrounded me, a support system that was always there; you know what you have the potential to do anything!” Nike’s caption further complemented their star athlete saying, “Jordan’s mindset and strong support system helped her overcome many obstacles and social pressures.”

“This is me, this is who I am and I am gonna embrace it; you got this!” she said in the end. Above all, do you know who supported Chiles during the hard times in 2017?

Jordan Chiles backed by fellow athlete

Chiles acknowledged in an interview that she almost gave up gymnastics after failing to make the 2017 world championships. “I thought the sport had lost interest in me. As a result, I turned around,” she said. Later, at the 2018 championships, Jordan placed eleventh which furthered her self-doubt. After some thought, she said, ” I already felt to end my career. However, Simone Biles and I chatted afterwards.” Biles proposed they train together at the World Champions Centre at the end of 2018, which meant a shift to Texas for Chiles.

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens have reconnected after spending six weeks apart. Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, and Owens, the NFL safety for the Green Bay Packers, are no strangers to the challenges of a long-distance relationship. Their commitments to their respective careers have made this distance a part and parcel of their lives. Following a back-and-forth period of long-distance separation, Biles told Owens, “See you in six weeks, babe,” last month.

Jonathan Owens gives Simone Biles a nature’s best gift

In a recent Instagram story, Simone Biles shared her special gift, posting a picture from her backyard with her pool in the background. She shared a picture of a huge bouquet featuring Burgundy chrysanthemums, light orange garden roses, purple calla lilies, lavender peonies, and more, creating a stunning fall vibe.

Biles captioned the floral gift, writing, “Jonathan bought me the prettiest flowers” with a white heart. The anticipation of fans to see the two back had been building the second Biles was back to America from the World Championships. Throughout her stay in Antwerp, Owens showered his wife with all his support and love, cheering her on from countries away.

However, this gift to Biles is not the first time Owens has surprised his wife with such bouquets. In fact, it’s a tradition he faithfully upholds, knowing her love for flowers.

The floral fantasy

Biles has often shared her fondness for flowers, frequently posting pictures of florals. Even her wedding flowers were chosen to align with the theme she had in mind. Recently, her sister preserved her wedding bouquet with the help of the brand “Pressed Florals,” creating a resin-framed sentiment that will stay with the couple for life. Owens also follows a tradition of gifting Simone bouquets.

After her win at the Core Hydration Classic, Owens left Biles a grand bouquet of flowers at home, a delightful surprise for her. Following her victory at the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, he surprised her with bouquets adorned with red and pink heart balloons. Most recently, on his birthday, Owens managed to make Biles’ day special by gifting her a bouquet of pink roses. Clearly, Biles prefers nature’s best gift.

As the couple reunites after nearly six weeks apart, fans couldn’t be more thrilled for them and look forward to all the wholesome updates that will follow from the couple. For now, they hope their love continues to bloom like the precious bouquets

Simone Biles touched down in Antwerp on 30th September, ready to reclaim the world gymnastics stage. She made a stunning entrance to the Sportpaleis on the very first day of podium training at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. After making a comeback with back-to-back victories at the national competition in her homeland, Biles led the charge during the qualifiers.

In an epic battle, she spearheaded Team USA to secure their seventh consecutive World Gymnastics Championship title. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Biles also claimed her sixth World Championship All-Around title.

On the last day of the competition, October 8th, she added two more gold medals to her collection, excelling in the floor exercise and balance beam finals. Even after facing a heartbreaking fall, she secured a silver medal at the vault finals. Biles proved to be a formidable force, but among the contenders, one athlete kept her on her toes. And most recently, Biles opened up, sharing her unfiltered thoughts about her formidable contender and legend to be.

Simone Biles addresses her major competition

After lifting another victory in Antwerp, Biles opened up about her competitor and the rising legend in an interview. When asked about having Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade as competition, Biles responded, “No definitely, even on floor I was “Ooh I’m a little nervous” or on beam and stuff like that. They’re amazing athletes so you can only wish that everybody puts the best foot forward that day. So yeah, I love having her.”

Rebeca Andrade, along with her coach Francisco Porath, has been cautious in the years following her third ACL tear. Despite multiple ACL tears in 2015, 2017, and 2019, she persevered in the sport. In 2022, she only performed on-the-floor exercise twice before the World Championships, and even then, she chose routines with lower difficulty and won the All-Around title and the Vault finals. At the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Rebeca Andrade kept Biles on her toes.

Biles passes the torch to Rebeca Andrade

The 24-year-old Brazilian gymnast emerged as Biles’ most formidable competitor. In the vault finals, Andrade broke Biles’ winning streak for 2023 by taking the gold with a score of 14.75, while Biles, despite a heartbreaking fall, secured the silver with a score of 14.549. Throughout the competition, Andrade consistently finished just behind Simone Biles, winning silver in the team all-around finals, individual all-around finals, floor exercise finals, and bronze on the balance beam.

Biles took home the gold in all these events. On the last day, while standing on the podium with Rebeca Andrade and her teammate Flavia Saraiva, after winning the floor routine, Biles made a symbolic gesture. She removed her crown and placed it on Rebeca’s head, signifying that she was passing the torch to the Brazilian as the “upcoming queen.

Earlier this year, Simone Biles earned the crown of the oldest woman to have won the 8th US National Title. Not long after making the National Championships history, she decided to improve her already outstanding resume a little more. Like thoughts, like action. After a decade, she stepped into Belgium, displayed her maneuvers and clinched her 6th World Title. Besides, she also anchored the team to a gold finish with a 167.729. Leaving the entire stadium in awe, Simone was “really proud of the performances she put out there.” 

Owing to her ‘Twisties’, her gymnastic career took an uncalled-for turn, about to shatter her dreams. But the GOAT justified her well-earned title by standing back up stronger. For the 26-year-old, though she has seen a lot in her illustrious career, some useful take aways matter the most.

Simone Biles laid out her life as an inspiration

Starting from the media to the fans, it’s not unlikely that cameras surround Simone at all times. Amidst lauds and clicks, Heath Thorpe, the Australian artistic gymnast, never fails to catch Simone for a quick questionnaire. According to Gymnastics Now’s post, “Following a very successful return to the world stage, @heaththorpe had a one-on-one chat with the GOAT Simone Biles. She discussed her overall feelings.” After the highly anticipated comeback at the worlds, the 37 Olympic medalist traced back to the difficult times.

This time, she also won a pile of medals.

Last week, 10 years to the day after a braces-bedecked Simone Biles claimed her first world title at Belgium’s Sportpaleis Antwerpen, the grown-up Mrs. Owens returned to that very arena. After scarcely a year back in the gym and in only her third competition since the Tokyo Olympics, Biles unequivocally dominated the 2023 World Championships. She left the arena on Sunday with her 26^th through 30^th world medals around her neck, making her the most decorated gymnast of all time, and obliterating any notion that the undisputed greatest athlete to grace the sport is anywhere near done with it.

Biles’ glut of 2023 hardware began in the team competition, as she led an all-star cast to victory over historic silver and bronze medalists Brazil and France. Biles then won her sixth individual all-around title, after a performance whose only notable flaw was an uncharacteristic stumble during a dance pass on floor exercise. (With Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and Biles’ teammate Shilese Jones rounding out silver and bronze, we were also blessed with our first-ever all-Black worlds podium.) And the victories didn’t stop there: On the last day of the grueling, weeklong competition, Biles also won both the balance beam and floor exercise event finals.

But it is Biles’ lone glint of silver at this worlds—on the vault, the fast, dangerous event that she often dominates by nearly a point, but also the apparatus that brought on that dangerous bout of vertigo in Tokyo—that may be her most significant medal this year. Mind you, this is not because she “lost.” (As if a silver medal is for slouches! It is not!) It’s because of the statement that silver, and the score that earned it, continues to make about Biles’ priorities as an athlete and a human being.

To see what I mean, we have to rewind a week to the competition’s opening qualification round. There, Biles attempted the stratospherically difficult vault she debuted domestically in 2021: a roundoff (or “Yurchenko-style”) entry onto the apparatus, with a second flip added in “post-flight.” This vault had informally been called the “Yurchenko double pike” (or YDP for short), until the second this happened:

The 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships witnessed an iconic moment. In the All-Around finals, three young, talented Black women ascended to the top of the podium: Simone Biles, Rebecca Andrade of Brazil, and Shilese Jones. Millions around the globe proudly celebrated the moment, recognizing the significance of three athletes of color standing together.  Biles expressed her excitement, saying, “We had our Black podium of girls. So, I thought that was amazing. Black girl magic. So, hopefully, it just teaches all the young girls out there that you can do anything.”

When we look at the landscape of USA Gymnastics today where the women’s world championship team was predominantly composed of gymnasts from diverse ethnic backgrounds, it’s difficult to fathom a time not so distant when there were no black gymnasts competing at the elite level. Not too long ago, in 2008, the USA Squad consisted entirely of white athletes representing the United States at the Beijing Olympics. Then came Gabby Douglas.

How the spark of change was ignited

According to The Washington Post, Gabby Douglas emerged as a star of the 2012 Olympics, becoming the first Black all-around champion at the Olympics. Her victory resonated with kids who finally saw someone who looked like them succeeding in the sport. This led to a surge in enrollments for young kids in academies and training centers. Biles even shared in an interview, “I remember when Gabby Douglas won I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, if she can do it, then I can do it.’” However, the real transformation occurred with the arrival of the most decorated gymnast of all time, Biles herself.

Biles became the first woman of color to win an all-around title at the world championships, just a year after Gabby Douglas claimed the top spot at the Olympic Games. Despite facing hate and degrading remarks, Biles persevered, and her “Black girl magic” became an inspiration world-wide. Cecile Landi, who served as Biles’ co-coach, remarked, “Simone has opened the eyes of so many women of color, saying, ‘Hey, you can do this, too.’” In 2021, at the US Championships, all three athletes on the podium were women of color. Biles took first place, Sunisa Lee, who later became the first Asian American to win all-around Olympic gold, secured second place, and Jordan Chiles came in third. Lee also became the first Hmong-American Olympian. And from there on out the historic moments continued.

Simone Biles inspires a new era of diversity in gymnastics.

In 2022 at the US Gymnastics Championships, three Black gymnasts stood on the all-around podium for the first time. Konnor McClain, Shilese Jones, and Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles made history once again. When Jordan Chiles joined the WCC owned by Biles’ parents in 2019 her mother said, “At our home gym, Jordan was the only one. It was refreshing to be able to see people of all colors. But to see the amount of little Black girls doing gymnastics, it just did my heart so good. It’s hard to explain. It just felt like ‘Wow.’” The presence of young Black girls and women of different ethnicities in the sport has grown, with athletes like Jordan Chiles, Zoe Miller, Tiana Sumanasekera and others who now train and compete alongside Biles. However, the “Biles effect” hasn’t remained limited to women’s gymnastics.

In 2023, the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won bronze at the world championships, ending a two-decade-long medal drought. Three gymnasts of color and different ethnicities graced the podium at the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics All-Around Final, marking a historic moment. Fred Richard from the United States put an end to the decade-long drought and wrote his name in history. Khoi Young, a 20-year-old native of Bowie, also made a significant impact, winning two silver medals during the 52nd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. The team also included Yul Moldauer, a South Korean-born American artistic gymnast who proudly represented the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Seeing the ever-emerging diversity in gymnastics today the legacy of “Black girl magic” continues to inspire generations. Ushering a new era of diverse gymnasts to reach for the stars in the world of gymnastics and beyond.

Simone Biles has taken aim at a newspaper after the publication shared an article about her featuring a photo of her teammate.

Biles made her much-anticipated return to international competition at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp after her two-year hiatus from the sport to prioritise her mental health.

The American returned in style as she won four golds and one silver to claim her 37th medal in World Championships and Olympic Games, surpassing the previous record set by Belarusian Vitaly Scherbothe and becoming the most decorated gymnast in history.

However, the 26-year-old was left frustrated when American publication, the Wall Street Journal, shared an article on social media about her achievements but mistakenly used a picture of her US teammate Shilese Jones.

Writing on X/Twitter, Biles said: “This picture isn’t even me…….. try again.”

Jones was part of the US women’s team that stormed to a record seventh straight victory in the team event, with the 21-year-old also picking up two bronze medals in the uneven bars and individual all-around event.

For Biles, however, the week in Belgium still marks a remarkable comeback to the sport and will raise hopes of her participation in next summer’s Paris Olympic Games. The American only made her return to competitive action at the US Classic in Chicago but was back to her best at the World Championships.

On top of her team gold, Biles also picked up the first-place prize in the individual all-around, balance beam, and floor events, while finishing second in the vault and fifth in the uneven bars.

Her medal tally in worlds and Olympics now sits at 37 – four more than previous record holder Scherbo – with the American surpassing the Belarusian’s total in the same city where she won her first World Championship gold ten years prior.

Elsewhere at the tournament, Jake Jarman claimed Britain’s only medal of the World Gymnastics Championships with gold in the men’s vault, while Max Whitlock finished fifth in the pommel horse in his return to international competition.

Find out what the gymnastics superstar is looking forward to after a record-breaking 2023 World Championships

Simone Biles return trip to World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, this past week was a complete success as the superstar American won five medals at the 2023 edition, including four golds in the team, all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise finals.

It was her first international competition since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 where she withdrew from the women’s team final and four subsequent individual finals to priortise her mental health as she dealt with what gymnasts call the ‘twisties,’ where the body and mind fall out of sync.

In her return to the sport, Biles has repeatedly talked about being more intentional in what she does, especially outside the gym.

“I think I’m making a bigger effort into taking care of my mind and my body, which includes going to therapy once every week, usually on Thursday is kind of like my therapeutic day and try to take a day for myself,” Biles told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview prior to the Worlds. “I think it’s just really important that I’m taking care of my mind as much as I do my body, especially in this sport and outside of the sport, just being real active in that.”