Simone Biles and the rest of the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team don’t need to be reminded of what happened in Tokyo three years ago.
Sunisa Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion; Jordan Chiles, the silver medalist there; and Jade Carey, the floor champion Jordan Chiles. All three, plus Biles, were inside the nearly empty and eerily quiet Ariake gymnasium for two memorable weeks that altered the course of each of their careers and, in ways large and small, led them back to the Games.
They’re older now (Biles is 27, Carey is 24, Chiles is 23 and Lee is 21) and eager for what they call a chance at redemption.
“Probably everyone looks at the team, like, ‘OK, they went to Tokyo and this, this, this happened. And what are they gonna do here in Paris ?’” Biles said. “But for us it’s different. I know we were stronger than what we showed in Tokyo.”
Biles reach Japan as the face of the Games. She left without the gold medals most expected and instead the focus of a conversation about the intersection of mental health and sport.
Lee became a somewhat unexpected champion after Biles withdrew from several finals, a victory she found hard to believe had been legitimately earned. Carey packed a gold medal in her carry-on on the way home but admitted it felt strange competing as an individual after following an unusual path to the Games. Chiles took team silver, with Biles watching from the sidelines, but admitted she wasn’t at her best during the competitions.
They’re all back, along with newcomer Hezly Rivera, just 16, hoping to create a different ending this time around.
“We really want a team gold,” said Lee, who overcame multiple kidney-related health issues to finish second to Biles at the U.S. Olympic qualifiers.
The U.S. women are favored to win since defending champion Russia is an obstacle from participating as part of the fallout from the war with Ukraine. It may not be as easy as Biles and Co. have made it seem by winning every major international competition (save, most notably, one) since the 2011 world championships.
Brazil and the mighty Rebeca Andrade have made great strides in the past decade. France, China, and Great Britain all have legitimate chances of making it onto the podium.
Still, Biles knows that a portion of viewers will be waiting with bated breath to see if what happened in Tokyo will be repeated. She is taking steps to ensure she is in a better place this time around, including therapy, though she stressed that the only reason she is back is because she feels she owes it to herself.
“Nobody is forcing me to do it,” Biles said. “I wake up every day and choose to push myself in the gym and come here just to remind myself that I can still do it.”
All she has done since returning last summer after a two-year break is win her sixth world all-around championship as she continues to push her sport to places no one else dares to go.
Biles, who is set to marry Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens in 2023, has ruled out whether this will be her last time competing under the Olympic rings. That’s too far down the road.
“I feel like even for me, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m still doing it. I’m still capable,’” she said. “So let’s go.”
Renewed Rivalry
Like their teammates, the Russian men are also out of contention to defend the Olympic title they won in a tense final three years ago.
That leaves China and Japan dueling for the top spot at Accor Arena. The Japanese are led by defending gold medalist Daiki Hashimoto, who has spent the past three years cementing his status as a worthy heir to countryman Kohei Uchimura, regarded as perhaps the greatest male gymnast of all time.
Hashimoto has won each of the last two world all-around championships, although China (2022) and Japan (2023) have shared the last two team titles.
Unlikely Return
The U.S. women are the first team in modern Olympic history to feature multiple champions on their roster.
While Biles’s presence was a given from the moment she returned, the road has been much bumpier for Lee. Over the past 18 months, she has dealt with massive weight fluctuations related to her kidney issues that limited her training and led her to tell her coach Jess Graba that she was ready to quit.
Except he didn’t. Instead, Lee and his team of medical professionals were able to control his treatment, which opened the door to Paris.
Biles’ presence also means Lee won’t feel the pressure of becoming the first repeat Olympic champion in more than 56 years. Instead, she’ll be hoping to come home with gold on the balance beam.
“I need to be a gold medalist because I feel like I always make it to the final and then I always mess up,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s still annoying.”
