Simone Addressed Whether She Plans To Compete At The 2024 Olympics
She has a lot to think about.
Simone Biles is def the G.O.A.T., and she’s also continuously proven that she’s inspiring AF. Since rising to international fame at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 24-year-old legend has done everything — from speaking out about the trauma she faced at USA Gymnastics to killing it at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (even after some setbacks). Along the way, she became the most decorated American gymnast ever. You love to see it, but you’re probably wondering, will Simone Biles compete at the 2024 Olympics?
Honestly, I’m biting my nails just thinking about whether or not Biles will compete at the next Summer Olympics, which is set to take place in Paris. Before she competed in Tokyo this year, she was considering making Paris her final Olympic hurrah — partially because her coaches, Laurent Landi and Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, are Parisian.
“I’ve already done quite a lot, but I’m still trying to reach new heights and see what I’m capable of,” she initially told Glamour in June. “My coaches Cecile and Laurent are from Paris, so I think that would be a good run to end with them there.”
It’s an understatement to say the gymnast has done a lot, especially considering many elite gymnasts tend to retire in their late teens or early 20s. Biles is 24 and would be 27 by the time the 2024 Games rolled around. Despite her age, though, she’s yet to show any signs of slowing down physically. This year, in Tokyo, Biles still walked away with two medals, even after withdrawing from the individual all-around event for safety and mental health reasons.
Biles now has a combined total of 32 World and Olympic medals. So, it makes sense that everyone is wondering if she plans to add any more medals to her shiny collection. But in light of her performance in Tokyo, she recently revealed that she isn’t very fixated on what’s next — for now, at least.
“I have to process this Olympics before I think about Paris,” Biles said in an Aug. 3 interview with Reuters following her bronze-winning beam routine. “Right now I’m going to focus on myself a little bit more often rather than push stuff under the rug. Mentally I still have a lot of things that I have to work on but to bring the topic of conversation on mental health to light means the world to me.”
That same day, Biles also told People that her “mental and physical health is above all the medals that I could ever win.”
This is not the first time the athlete has prioritized her mental health. In recent years, she’s consistently discussed the importance of mental wellness, and also cited mental health as one of the driving factors behind her earlier withdrawal. But Biles isn’t the only one focused on the present; her coach, Cecile, is encouraging her to take it slow, People reports.
“Right now, it's too early to say after the week she's had. I don't think she's ready to commit to anything. And I wouldn't blame her,” Landi said. “She used to take one day at a time, you know, we've been saying that every day since we've been here, especially the past week. It's been mostly a partnership with her. She's 24. She knows herself. I know her well, and that's all we've been working on.”
Paris Olympics or not, Biles is so right: mental health is key. Sending good vibes her way!
