My body ages: Gymnast Simone Biles unsure about 2028 LA Olympics

MADRID – American gymnast Simone Biles, voted Sportswoman of the Year at the Laureus Sport Awards ceremony in Madrid on April 21, said she remained uncertain about whether she would compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The 28-year-old, a seven-gold Olympic champion, won three titles in Paris in 2024, making a thrilling return to the Olympic stage after a long mental health break.

“I’m really enjoying my time off before I decide if I want to go back to the gym and compete,” she said.

“A lot of people think it’s just a one-year commitment but it truly is the four years leading up to the Olympics.

“It’s in LA it’s back in the States, which is so exciting. But if I’m going to compete again, I’m not so sure. But I will be at the Olympics, whether it’s on the floor or in the stands.”

On April 22, she told French sports daily L’Equipe: “2028 seems so far away. And my body ages. I felt it in Paris.

“At the end of the competition, I went back to the village, I took the elevator and my body literally collapsed – I got sick for 10 days... So, to be honest, I don’t know. We’ll see.”

Biles, who won gold medals in the team, all-around and vault competitions, as well as a silver on the floor exercise in Paris to complete a triumphant comeback three years after withdrawing from events at the Tokyo Olympics, won the Laureus award for the fourth time.

That equalled the record held by tennis great and compatriot Serena Williams.

“I’m so happy to be here in Madrid and to receive my fourth Laureus Award,” Biles added.

“I won this award for the first time in 2017 and Laureus has been a part of my story since then. There might be a little girl watching someone like me on television and deciding she can do it, too.”

Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, the two-time Olympic champion and world record holder, was named Sportsman of the Year.

The 25-year-old took the award ahead of tennis star Carlos Alcaraz, Formula One champion Max Verstappen, Paris 2024 swim king Leon Marchand and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar.

“The Laureus Awards are the ultimate awards that we athletes want to win,” Duplantis said.

“I know because this is the fourth time I have been nominated – and that proves it’s harder to win a Laureus than an Olympic gold.”

He follows four-time winner Usain Bolt as the second representative from track and field to win the award.

Regarded as one of the greatest pole vaulters of all time, Duplantis won a second straight Olympic gold medal in Paris, breaking his own world record for the eighth time, before shattering it twice more since then.

Another gymnast, Rebeca Andrade, won the Comeback of the Year award after winning gold in the floor at the Paris Games.

Barcelona’s Spanish football prodigy Lamine Yamal, who had an exceptional first full season for club and country, winning Euro 2024 with Spain at just 17, won the Breakthrough of the Year award.

Real Madrid, who won their 15th Champions League and the La Liga title in 2023-24, took the team award.

Rafael Nadal, who retired from tennis last November at the age of 38, was given a Sporting Icon award and surfer Kelly Slater a Lifetime Achievement award.

Nadal insisted he does not “miss tennis”.

The 38-year-old Spaniard, winner of 22 Grand Slam trophies, including 14 at Roland Garros, retired after his final match at the Davis Cup in Malaga in November.

“The truth is that I don’t miss tennis. Zero. I don’t miss it at all,” he said.

“But not because I finished tired of tennis or fighting against tennis, not at all. I finished my career happy and if I could have, I would have carried on, because I loved what I was doing.

“It was my passion and that’s been the case all my life. It’s just that when you realise that physically you can’t do it any more... you try to close that chapter. And I closed it.”

The Laureus World Sports Awards nominees are selected by the global media, while the winners are determined by the 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. The awards have been presented annually since 2000. AFP, REUTERS

List of winners

World Sportswoman of the Year: Simone Biles
World Sportsman of the Year: Armand Duplantis
World Team of the Year: Real Madrid
World Breakthrough of the Year: Lamine Yamal
World Comeback of the Year: Rebeca Andrade
World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Jiang Yuyan
World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Tom Pidcock
Laureus Sport for Good: Kick4Life
Laureus Sporting Icon: Rafael Nadal
Laureus Lifetime Achievement: Kelly Slater