Simone Biles had a worrying left calf muscle niggle over the last few days. But on Tuesday night, at the Bercy Arena in Paris, the iconic gymnast had the audience watch with jaws gaping as she was in show-stopping mode. Guiding the USA to the women’s team gold in the Paris 2024 Olympics was defining indeed.
One more medal for Biles, her eighth in the Summer Olympics, including five golds, has already set social media on fire. There is a new phrase coined for her, not GOAT (Greatest of All Time) but GOATEST.
From the time Biles scorched the US trials back home around five weeks ago, the hype had begun. This is just a teaser, a promo of sorts as to what more she will do in these Olympics, as she has medal hopes in several more events.
Biles teamed up with Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera as the Americans totalled 171.296 points. To say that Biles had the audience in raptures and her teammates also fired up the arena would be no exaggeration.
When she entered the arena, music from Beyonce and Taylor Swift rent the air. This is one sport where the movements in tandem with the music are as enchanting as the twists and turns the artistic gymnasts produce inside the arena.
In Tokyo, Biles was mentally shot. How she has bounced back, found love in her life and joy has been one of the most romantic stories in sport. Her mother and even Serena Williams, the diva of tennis, watched as the Americans dazzled.
As they went through the movements which left you in a daze, the applause was instantaneous. Paris had been warming up to Biles and this was the perfect evening on Tuesday. As the the USA topped the event and grabbed the Star and Stripes, it was even more loud.
The crème de la crème had come to watch, including her husband Jonathan Owens. Owens, who plays American Football with the Chicago Bears, was not happy just to be cheering in front of a TV, and boarded a flight to Paris. He had taken permission from his team to come for the Olympics and proudly announced it as well on social media.
They say that behind every successful man, there is a woman. In Biles’s case, her marriage to Owens has given new meaning to her life. She has had to battle many mental demons after being one of Larry Nassar’s many assault victims, and it’s only in the past year or so that she has gotten back to her Rio-2016 best.
Even for a country like the USA, which boasts so many Olympic superstars, Biles is a legend. And after her travails in Tokyo, where she got the jitters before the vault, this could be another Games to remember.
“We’re super excited,” said Biles after clinching a first gold in Paris. “We’re honoured to represent the US every time we get on a world stage, but accomplishing that gold and that goal was just an amazing feeling. I think we all had something to prove from Tokyo, and tonight we did just that. It means the world. This was our goal going in, even though we didn’t share it with everybody because it’s just a personal thing that we were working on.”
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🚨BREAKING: Swapnil Kusale reached the final of men’s 50m rifle 3 positions.@iabhijitdesh reports from Châteauroux.@ThumsUpOfficial #Paris2024 #UthaThumsUpJagaaToofan pic.twitter.com/vfZAobrvtd
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