Stars turn up in droves for US star gymnast Simone Biles’ Olympic return

PARIS – Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour were among the celebrities packed into Bercy Arena on July 28 to witness the return of Simone Biles to the Olympic gymnastics stage for the qualifying round.

Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, is back for her third Games after withdrawing from most of her events at the Tokyo Games in 2021 with mental health issues.

She leads a veteran squad seeking redemption after the United States team finished second in Tokyo – thus ending their hopes of completing a hat-trick of Olympic team titles following their success in 2012 and 2016.

“It’s awesome. Great stories, great athletes. It’s incredible what they do,” Hollywood superstar Cruise told Reuters in the stands at the arena.

Singer Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen said there was nowhere they would rather be. 

“This was on our bucket list. We wanted to make sure we came to this event. They represent the best of America and we are so proud and excited for them. Let’s go USA,” he said.

The sold-out arena erupted when the US team were announced, and let out a deafening roar when four-gold medallist Biles was introduced. 

The 27-year-old, aiming to add to her golden haul in a dazzling 2016 Rio Games campaign, tweaked her left calf warming up for her second apparatus, the floor exercise.

It did not stop her from soaring through her signature Yurchenko double pike vault – now known as the Biles II – which even with a big step-back on landing earned a 9.4 for execution for a total of 15.800 points.

She had another step-back landing her second vault, but laughed as she crawled back towards her teammates on her hands and knees.

That was all it took for Biles’ coach Cecile Landi to know that for Biles, “It’s on. It’s OK.”

Landi, who said Biles aggravated a minor injury she had been dealing with for a couple of weeks, said there was never any question the star gymnast would not continue.

With two of the five qualifying sessions complete, Biles topped the all-around standings with 59.566 points. Teammate Sunisa Lee, the Tokyo Olympics all-around champion, was second.

Biles abruptly pulled out of the team final at the Tokyo Games after suffering from the “twisties”, a term used to describe the temporary loss of spatial awareness while performing high-difficulty elements.

On July 28, she powered the runaway favourites for the team title to the top of the qualifying standings. The top eight qualifiers will contest the final on July 30.

“She is so resilient. To be able to overcome that and put herself back in position to be able to do something is truly remarkable,” said National Football League great Larry Fitzgerald.

Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 all-around world champion and the team’s technical lead, said they could handle the pressure of performing in front of the star-studded crowd.

“When they come into the arena, they kind of put their blinders on and are focusing on their job. But having the amount of energy that the arena has, it fuels them to do even better. It gives them that extra energy, which is great,” she said.

A five-year-old Biles super fan named Georgia, who was in the stands with her father Andrew Pearce of Alabama, said she planned to follow in her idol’s footsteps as she performed some impressive gymnastics manoeuvres in a corridor outside the competition arena. 

“I’m practising because when I grow up, I’m going to be in the Olympics,” she said. REUTERS, AFP