Simone Biles dominates Olympic qualifying round despite injury

Simone Biles made her anticipated return to the Summer Olympics on Sunday, dominating a gymnastics qualifying session that ended with Team USA in the lead. 

Biles, now 27, is the most decorated gymnast in history and considered the G.O.A.T of her sport — meaning Greatest of All Time. She debuted in this year’s competition in Paris after a widely publicized break, which began with her premature exit from the Tokyo Olympics to prioritize her mental health.

The seven-time Olympic medalist has since spoken candidly about suffering from the “twisties,” a dangerous phenomenon where gymnasts lose their spatial awareness in the air.

Team USA finished Sunday’s qualification session with an impressive score of 172.296, putting the group of athletes – that also includes returning Olympians Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles – at the front of the pack heading into the all-around final on Thursday. Biles, for her part, delivered stunning and technically near-flawless performances on the balance beam, vault, floor and uneven bars, despite appearing to injure her calf while warming up for the second round of qualifying events in the Bercy Arena. 

Video of the warm-ups showed Biles at one point crawling back from the vault and then hopping on her right leg toward the edge of the mat, where she told a teammate, “I’m gonna need a wheelchair.” The gymnast was later seen using a foam roller off to the side of the floor.

But the injury did not seem to limit Biles come game time, as she performed an impressive vault routine that featured her trademark Yurchenko double pike, all with her ankle heavily taped. The routine earned a spectacular score of 15.8.

Women’s gymnastics coach Cecille Landi, an Olympian who competed for France in 1996, told reporters that Biles had tweaked her calf several weeks ago and was on the mend during the training that led up to the games.

“She felt a little something in her calf. That’s all,” Landi said after the qualifying session, according to the Olympics. The coach noted that Biles had no intention to leave the competition, saying, “Never in her mind.”

Landi added that Biles’ calf had improved by the end of the session on Sunday. Heading into the final this week, Biles and Sunisa Lee will make history regardless of where they place in the event, as two former all-around champions competing in the same event for the same country. Landi acknowledged Biles’ stunning comeback along with the fact that, knowing her track record, there could be even more room to grow.

“It was pretty amazing. 59.5, and four-for-four,” Landi said of Biles’ qualifying performance and score, which eclipsed that of Lee, the reigning champion, by a solid margin. “Not perfect. She still can improve … just really good.”

Biles’ comeback drew celebrities to the Olympics 

Biles and Team USA competed in Sunday’s qualifiers to packed stands in Paris’ Bercy Arena, with a number of high-profile Hollywood celebrities in the crowd.

Among them were actors like Tom Cruise and Jessica Chastain, musicians like Ariana Grande, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas and John Legend, as well as the Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. 

Gaga performed the first musical act at the opening ceremony on Friday. The Grammy winner posted a video of Biles’ beam routine to Instagram on Sunday, with the caption: “She nailed it, what an honor to be so close!”