Simone Biles made her official Olympic comeback during the Paris Games qualifying round despite an apparent leg injury. Over the weekend, viewers watched the 27-year-old champion dominate on uneven bars, balance beam, vault and floor alongside her teammates, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera and Jade Carey.
On Sunday, July 28, the highly decorated gymnast impressed judges and viewers, as usual, when she delivered a flawless balance beam routine. After sticking her landing, Simone flashed a smile as the audience cheered, many of whom were celebrities that came to support the greatest gymnast of all time.
Among the most notable faces in the crowd during the women’s gymnastics qualifying round were Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise and Nick Jonas, who even shared a video of Simone’s beam routine to his Instagram. In his caption, the JoBro wrote, “Legend.”
Nevertheless, Simone was later seen battling pain in her leg. After warming up for her vault routine, the athlete noticeably jumped up and down on her other leg, seemingly to take the weight off her injured one. She then jokingly said to her teammates, “I’m gonna need a wheelchair,” according to a video shared by NBC.
It’s been a strenuous journey for Simone since her last Olympics in Tokyo. During the 2021 games, she withdrew from the competition after suffering from the phenomenon known as the “twisties.” The dilemma is when a gymnast is unaware of where they are in the air, making any landings dangerous.
After dominating the Olympic trials earlier this summer, Simone told reporters that she not only powered through her own training, but also the critics who chastised her for leaving the 2021 competition.
“They’ll still say like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re going to quit again? Or are you going to quit again?’” she said, per the Associated Press. “And like, and If I did, what are you going to do about it? Tweet me some more? Like, I’ve already dealt with it for three years. But yeah, they want to see us fail.”
Simon further noted that she thinks there’s “an unfairness” to the relentless criticism “because you only watched it once, and then if they fall it’s, ‘Oh she sucks’ and it’s like, ‘No, you’re still sitting on the couch and they’re still at the Olympics, what are you talking about they sucked? They’re the best in their country.’ So, it’s hard.”