One of the most eagerly awaited athletes for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is Simone Biles. Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, citing a lack of mental preparation for the competition. This resulted from the “Twisties,” a condition she had when trying a risky vault technique. It’s best described as a vertigo-like feeling in midair.

Fans are anticipating the gymnastics queen of the sport’s return to the pinnacle stage with great anticipation, following an amazing comeback in 2023. In addition to the excitement surrounding Simone Biles, there was conjecture months prior to the competition that she would bring back the technique that disqualified her from competition in 2021.

Months before the eagerly awaited Paris Olympics in 2024, Simone Biles shocked everyone by sharing eight brand-new training videos on her Instagram stories, as reported by Gymnastics Now in December 2023. Fans were pleased that Biles was already in training, but what really captured their attention was how well she executed the Amanar, a maneuver she hadn’t done since the 2021 Olympics. The Amanar on vault is a gymnast’s backward handspring from the vaulting table, which involves flipping their body into a straight position and twisting twice and landing.

It was named for the Romanian former artistic gymnast Simona Amânar, and is also referred to as the Yurchenko 2.5. The Amanar vault is a very challenging move that has a maximum score of 15.8, which is determined by combining difficulty and execution. Biles withdrew from the Olympics in 2021 because to this shift, which was so challenging. To comprehend the circumstances underlying this crucial choice, let’s travel back in time.

Rewind to the Tokyo Olympics of 2021, where Simone Biles was supposed to perform the Amanar vault. She only completed one and a half twists when she lost her bearings in midair, which resulted in a less than perfect landing. She then talked candidly about experiencing the “Twisties.” After all, Biles withdrew from the competition, which meant that the Russian team had a chance to win the gold medal and the United States would be without their top gymnast.

However, it appears like Biles may finally make amends at the Paris Olympics by pulling off one of the sport’s most challenging routines. As she previously won the Yurchenko Double Pike Vault in the 2023 World Championships and was given the nickname “Biles II” in the FIG’s Code of Points, it begs the question of whether she will bring back the Amanar, or Yurchenko 2.5, in 2024. Or would we see a completely different move—possibly the eagerly awaited “Biles III”?

She teased her admirers with a full-in, or Yurchenko full-twisting double back, indicating that she’s not slowing down, which added credence to this rumor. Though we’re interested in hearing your opinions, time will reveal the answers.

Mary Lou Retton, the first American woman to win the gold medal in gymnastics for the whole competition in the Summer Olympics in 1984, once said, “For athletes, the Olympics are the ultimate test of their worth.” Her observation is valid because the Olympic stage is regarded as the highest point in the sports industry. And Simone Biles is regarded as the gymnastics queen on this stage thanks to her seven Olympic gold.

Though it has been three years since the last Olympics in Tokyo, where many thought she may have made her last appearance on the gymnastics floor, Biles’ surprise return in 2023 has generated excitement. There is still one unanswered question: Will Simone Biles be an Olympic competitor in Paris in 2024?

Simone Biles opened up about her ambitions for Paris 2024 during the Peacock stream of “Back That Year Up With Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson” in 2023. Will we see you in Paris? Kenan Thompson asked. The gymnastics sensation retorted, “That’s the ultimate aim.” And whether I’m in the stands or on the floor, I’ll be there. I’m hoping to be on the ground. Furthermore, Biles has previously disclosed her plans for Paris in 2024.

Simone Biles shared, “Although I freak out a little at the beginning of every Olympic cycle, I’ll have to remind myself that I’m fine when the clock hits 2024,” in her Incredible Women piece for Porter on December 18, 2023. Moreover, Biles stated on the Today Show in September 2023 that competing in Paris “is the path that I would love to go.” Even though Simone Biles has expressed her intense desire to compete at the Olympic level multiple times, what does 2024 hold for Biles?

With 30 medals in all, including 23 gold and six all-around wins, Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in history during her incredible 2023 season. But in 2024, Biles still has some achievements to aim for, like an Olympic gold medal on the individual beam. She came very near to winning bronze in the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, but the star missed out on the gold on the apparatus, which she could try to win at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

On the main Olympic stage, she also has the opportunity to win an eighth Olympic medal and possibly more. In addition, Biles might compete in October 2024 at the World Championships in an attempt to win the championship once more and possibly earn a second chance at redemption in the vault finals. As she battles to guarantee her spot in the Paris Olympics in 2024, supporters are waiting impatiently for what seems to be a historic year in sports.

Since her return in 2023, Simone Biles has been a formidable force in the gymnastics world. Her coronation day is getting closer as she wins more and more national and international competitions. But before she’s crowned the gymnastics queen again, Biles needs to win more medals in Paris. As she awaits her ultimate celebration in the French capital, a recent development in the PMAC has made the legend smile.

Simone Biles works out with a group of teenage athletes who are rising to prominence in her family’s Texas gym. Recently, during the LSU vs. Ohio State match, a fellow trainee who is now a Tiger helped Olivia Dunne’s team to an outstanding victory.

When Olivia Dunne steps onto the mat, the No. 3 LSU Tigers gymnastics team is usually excited. With several incredible acrobatics and flips up her sleeve, the social media sensation is also a tumbling legend. But during Friday night’s game between the Tigers and Ohio State, one particular rookie stole the show.

Amari Drayton stole the show with her outstanding performance. Until very recently, she trained at the World Champions Centre with seven-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles. LSU Gymnastics promoted her initial performance with an X post because they were confident in her abilities. Captioning: “PERMIT US TO OFFICIALLY PRESENT AMARI DRAYTON The University uploaded a video of her outstanding performance. “The freshman scores a 9.925!”

The University released a video of her outstanding performance. Remarkably, Simone Biles claimed her as her own when she uploaded the video on X.

“That’s our girl 🥹💜🐯 so proud of you, Ari,” Biles added, sharing their familial connection with the world. With a total point of 196.975 against Ohio State’s 196.775, LSU prevailed by a narrow margin. Amari Drayton played a part in this victory, but it was made possible by a last-minute switch.

In an unexpected turn of events, Amari Drayton gets a place
Kiya Johnson was supposed to be the final gymnast for the floor performance by the LSU Tigers. But at the last minute, she had to remove her name from consideration. Amari Drayton was then proposed by the LSU coach to take her position. In her first game as the Tigers’ anchor, Drayton scored 9.925 points.

KJ Johnson scored 9.850 points on the floor earlier. The high score of Drayton caused this to be removed from the leaderboard. The Tigers finished the title with an all-time high score thanks to Amari Drayton’s contribution to the team’s overall score.

“You can’t say it enough” why Simone Biles is the greatest of all time. Right before her mid-air Amanar vault let her down at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles was on a winning spree. At the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the 26-year-old returned after months of mindful training. But at the 2019 World Championships, she looked like an undefeatable force.

In 2023, she settled for four gold medals in the team, all-around, balance beam, and floor. Since the vault is where she had chances to trip, her careful stance landed a silver. Since Lilia Podkopayeva won the Olympics and the World all-around in 1996, Biles became the next to take that podium. But the most notable event of her career would be the one where she bagged all the golds in one go while breaking the team record too.

In an X account named Black Lives Matter, the account holder posted a throwback video of Simone Biles. With the caption “Simone Biles Breaks U.S. Women Gymnastics Team Record“, the person clearly became a fan favorite with this cherishable clip. Before 2019 happened, she walked with 4 golds in the two consecutive years, 2014 and 2015. In fact, in 2018, she maintained her consistency with 4 gold podiums. But her streak diverged in 2019, when she secured all five golds in every event.

In the video, she started off a “little bit too powerful” on the Cheng vault. Following, she chalked up her grips to execute a perfect uneven bars routine. “She spins faster than anybody”, while she made sure to land the beam smoothly, ending the routine. Donning a USA-themed leotard of GK Elite, the Olympian’s floor routine was nothing short of a charmer weaving magic. “You sit their with your mouth wide open in awe”, was all the commentators could say about her after she anchored her team to a record-breaking gold. But as of October 2019, Biles had a lot to share after her performance.

Biles had expressed uncontainable joy

“It means the world to me. For my fifth, that’s kind of unheard of so it was really exciting. But we finished strong and we gave it our all. It’s super exciting that we had the opportunity to do this” was all the Olympian had to say after her displays. In Stuttgart, she stood as the sole woman to have won her record margin of victory.

Securing a total 58.999, she moved her Chinese rival to second, followed by the Russian gymnast in bronze. Her words “I can’t be more thrilled with the performance that I put out at this world championships”, were praiseworthy. But her humility showed colors when she uttered, “I’m not a number person.” It’s a matter of 7 months until she breaks her own record again.

It’s Simone Biles in a podcast setting again, but it’s not ‘The Pivot’ this time. Since her comeback event, the 2023 US National Championships, the 26-year-old has justified the title ‘GOAT’ before her name. There’s no such platform she steps on and history isn’t made. Currently standing with six World all-around Championship titles, the Olympian takes the most pride in something else.

At the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Biles jumped in joy, screaming, “I got my 5th skill named”. The 5th skill is the Yurchenko Double Pike, she has four other skills named after her, two on the floor, another in the vault, and one in the beam. Each of these skills have their own difficulty levels.

Kenan Thompson and Kevin Hart hosted the 7x Olympic medalist in an exclusive episode of 2023 Back That Year Up. While she talked about her love life with her husband, she also offered glimpses of her gymnastic world. When Thompson started his speech with “You’ve five gymnastics skills named after you”, the obvious question that followed was “do you have favorite move?” Biles’ expression looked like she already knew what was coming her way. She unhesitantly answered, “I don’t really have a favorite. I guess they’re scary to most scary”. But the moment everyone waited for, she finally spilled, “the scariest I think is the Biles II on vault”.

Let’s go back to October and relive her 5th skill naming moment. But before that, the fall on the podium training day had initially left her success in suspension. In Antwerp, Belgium, she emerged as the most decorated gymnast of all time, mainly because she could ace the ‘scary’ routine like a pro, putting aside her fears. But the world didn’t fail to capture her teary-eyed moment, which came with notes of gratitude.

Biles’ elation knew no bounds

Since her first World Championships victory came in Antwerp a decade ago, her recent win brought the story to a full circle. She had said, “World championships!!!!! Whew Antwerp will always hold a special place in my heart.” But her following statement stood as a testament to her dedication towards gymnastics. Said, “I’m speechless. I’m honored. I’m excited and I’m blessed! Doing it for the little girl who fell in love with the sport!!!!!”

On her plethora of history-making podiums, she had extended notes of gratitude, saying, “I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to fans, friends, family & partnerships who have been unwavering pillars of support throughout my mental health journey.” For someone who didn’t fathom a comeback after the Tokyo Olympics setback, is looking forward to another Olympics now.

To think that Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens went from saying, “I never really paid attention to gymnastics,” to becoming history’s most decorated gymnast’s other half? That’s a testament to Owens and Simone Biles’ journey as a sporting power couple. From meeting on the dating app Raya in 2020 to tying the knot in 2023, they’ve gone from strength to strength. But while they may be at their strongest, Owens’ image for Biles’ fans isn’t. And it’s all do do with his recent controversial comments.

The scrutiny of Jonathan Owens’ remarks on The Pivot podcast began with the subtlety of a gentle breeze but quickly escalated into a raging storm. Now, the fans have started to pick apart everything Owens has ever uttered publicly to denounce him completely. Biles has finally had enough and sought to shut down the barrage with a simple question.

Simone Biles used the X platform to address her angry fans. She posted a meme of a child scratching their head. The expression on their face was one of disdain and exasperation. The six-time all-around world gold medalist wrote, “are y’all done yet?” This came after her husband’s comments on The Pivot podcast. When asked how he managed to “pull” Simone Biles, his reply was rather surprising.

Owens joked, “How’d she pull me? That’s the question.” He then explained how they met on Raya: “I’m like, ‘Lemme see who this is.’ I never really paid attention to gymnastics, so it piqued my curiosity.” But what he said next caused a major part of the backlash. “When she won the Olympics, I was in college, and we didn’t have NBC.” It didn’t take long for Simone Biles’ fans to dig through the internet to prove that Ownes, in fact, did watch NBC and was aware of the sport.

During the 2012 Olympics—when Biles was too young to qualify—Gabby Douglas became the all-around gold medalist. The Green Bay Packers safety tweeted, “Gabby with the gold !” among other things. But his “how’d she pull me” and seeming unawareness about Biles before 2020—especially considering 2012 was a breakthrough for Biles—weren’t all that sparked criticism. On the podcast, Owens said, “I always say that the men are the catch [in a relationship].”

These remarks from the NFL player have dispelled the lovely image of the couple from the fans’ memory and instilled a rather negative perception of their relationship. Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles posted pictures from their wedding ceremony to rejuvenate the beautiful memories, but they were in vain. With this tweet, Biles may have rekindled the controversy.

Biles’ meme causes online stir

The fans’ estimate of Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens’ relationship has reached a pivotal juncture, with one-half supporting them and the other blaming the latter for his remark. One fan even offered a problematic prognosis of their relationship, writing,

There’s no doubt that Simone Biles isn’t too pleased with all the hate toward her husband floating around in her fandom. Needless to say, she has every right to be angry. But a fan asked Biles to redirect her anger, stating,

This is the holiday season, a time for joy and love. It’s a time to spend with family. But instead of doing that, the gymnast is having to regulate hate on social media. Considering this, a fan gave her some sound advice, writing,

As the most decorated gymnast ever, Simone Biles is arguably the GOAT of the sport. But her GOAT status seems to have carried over to how she’s handling this situation as well. At least, that’s what a supporter had to say.

So far as the public sentiments go, this controversy is not going to die down anytime soon. Let’s just hope Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens have braced themselves for the long haul.

At the onset of 2023, nobody could have anticipated the spectacular resurgence that Simone Biles would make in gymnastics. Yet here we are, with mere days left in the year, and the 26-year-old has clinched the Core Hydrations Classic title, the national champion title, and the world champion title, and even added another element to the FIG’s code of points.

And that’s not all; most recently, she also magnanimously received the coveted AP Female Athlete of the Year for the third time. With 2024 promising to be one of the biggest years in sports history, what can we expect the gymnastics phenom Biles to do next?

According to The Associated Press, Simone Biles outshone names like Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark and Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati of the World Cup-winning Spanish soccer team to become The Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year. With nearly 19 votes from a panel of sports media professionals, Simone Biles clinched the prestigious honor for the third time with her last wins in 2016 and 2019. Conversely, an Instagram post by ATHLETA hailed her in a candid shot, slaying it sartorially and with the caption penned – 👏 ANOTHER WIN FOR SIMONE 👏

The honor adds to her endless list of accolades, solidifying her position as the most decorated gymnast ever. Now that the 2024 Paris Olympics is approaching at warp speed, let’s take a look at what she can add to her treasure trove.

While Simone Biles boasts seven Olympic medals, including four golds in 2016, her individual beam gold has eluded her so far. In the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she came close and took home a bronze medal. Therefore, the 2024 Paris Olympics presents a golden opportunity for Biles to clinch the Individual Olympic Gold Medal on the Balance Beam. Apart from this, in the coming year, she can seek redemption once again and claim the World Championship vault title.

In 2023, she lost the spot to Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, who clinched the gold, while Biles claimed silver due to a fumble on the apparatus. She hasn’t been able to reclaim the top spot since 2019, so fans await the queen to once again reign in the apparatus in 2024. Adding to a list of achievements yet to be attained. Hopefully, 2024 can present her with the opportunity to finally claim many more honors hitherto unheard of.

Simone Biles ended the year 2023 with a bang, and fans wait with bated breaths to see her dominate the pinnacle sports event of 2024, which is the Paris Olympics, hoping she adds more medals to her already remarkable collection of seven.