PARIS (AP) — The similarities were striking. Maybe fitting in the birthplace of déjà vu.
Simone Biles sitting off to the side at the Olympics. USA Gymnastics team doctor Marcia Faustin by her side. A look of concern on both their faces.
Three years ago in Tokyo, the scene ended with Biles removing herself from multiple finals to protect her safety — prompting an international discussion about mental health.
Yet Biles is determined to write a different ending to the story in Paris. The 27-year-old American star wasn’t dealing with any sort of block or trauma but something far more common to gymnasts, particularly ones who have been doing this two decades.
Just like in Tokyo, Biles and Faustin briefly disappeared. Unlike Tokyo, Biles returned not in a sweatsuit but with her left leg heavily taped after tweaking her calf during her warmup on floor exercise. She spent the rest of the afternoon walking around with a noticeable limp everywhere except the competition floor.
The woman who has been saying over and over and over that this isn’t 2021 went out and proved it on Sunday inside star-studded Bercy Arena, shaking off what U.S. coach Cecile Landi described as a minor calf issue to post the top score in the all-around and put whatever lingering ghosts there may be from Tokyo in the rearview mirror.
Biles finished at 59.566, well clear of reigning Olympic champion and teammate Sunisa Lee, saluting the crowd after her dismount on uneven bars, her final event. She hopped off the podium, danced with good friend Jordan Chiles and has no plans to stop her quest for gold in Tuesday’s team final and Thursday’s individual all-around.
“It was pretty amazing, 59.5,” Landi said. “Not perfect so she can improve even (but) … just really good.”
Landi said the issue popped up a couple of weeks ago and she described it as minor. There was no discussion of Biles pulling out.
Instead, Landi and her husband, Laurent — who have long served as Biles’ personal coach in Texas — encouraged her to take a breath and keep going as Laurent applied heavy doses of tape to her leg.
“We told her to remind herself, like she’s capable of doing it,” Landi said. “She knows she’s got it and it’s OK and then she did. So, really excited for her.”
The issue hardly slowed her down. Biles posted the highest score on floor and vault — both after the injury — as she tries to add to her career total of seven Olympic medals.
The only event final Biles is likely to miss is uneven bars, where she opted not to attempt a unique skill she submitted to the International Gymnastics Federation on Friday. She can still opt to do it during the team final, opening the door for it to be entered into the sport’s Code of Points with her name attached.
Yet that appeared to be far from Biles’ mind when she finished up her bars set. Instead, there was a mixture of relief and the urge to soak in the moment following her dismount at what could be the final competition of her unparalleled career.
The same could be said of her teammates after the heavily favored Americans finished at 172.296, more than five points clear of second-place Italy (166.861) as they search for what they’re calling “redemption” following a runner-up finish to Russia three years ago.
“They’re happy and relieved,” Landi said. “Day 1, now moving on to team finals, all-around finals, a couple event finals hopefully.”
Landi said Biles’ leg was feeling better as she moved through the events and expects her to be available going forward.
The reality is the Americans — especially with Russia out of the mix due to the war in Ukraine — don’t need to rely on her as much as they have in previous Games.
Biles, Lee and Chiles went 1-2-3 in the all-around during early qualifying, though Chiles will miss the all-around final due to rules that limit countries to entering two athletes per competition.
There’s a chance Chiles will make the floor exercise final should she finish in the top eight. Lee is practically a lock for the beam and bars finals, with 2020 floor exercise champion Jade Carey in good position to join Biles in the vault final.
That is, of course, if Biles is healthy.
The injury added a dash of drama to an event that’s become a must-see for athletes and celebrities alike.
The stands were buzzing and filled with stars. Tom Cruise posed for selfies while waiting for Biles to emerge. Snoop Dogg had front-row seats, and Ariana Grande, Jessica Chastain, John Legend and Anna Wintour were also on hand.
Biles arrived in Paris as the face of the U.S. Olympic movement and maybe the Olympics themselves. The buzz around her return to the Games has been palpable, with NBC leaning heavily into her star power by splashing Biles’ face on countless promotions in the lead-up to Paris.
Her gravitational pull is real. Athletes across the Olympic spectrum have said they want to make it a point to catch the most decorated gymnast of all time put on a show that is uniquely hers. Among them: LeBron James and the U.S. men’s basketball team, which was busy Sunday with their Olympic opener.
James & Co. may have a chance to catch Biles later this week, provided her calf cooperates, hardly a given in a sport where the injury rate is nearly 100%.
Biles has spent the last 11 years largely avoiding the kind of physical setbacks that have ended the Olympic journeys of so many others.
Not for Biles — not yet anyway — as her chance at a golden send-off remains very much in the offing even if she literally is now forced to take it one ginger step at a time.
