‘Courage to Soar’: The return of Simone Biles

She spent two years trying to wither away from those strange days in Tokyo and all the outside noise that came along with it She dove into therapy and slowly rather very slowly returned to training even though she wavered on whether she was really up for a third Olympics and all of the pressure and expectations that come with it when you are regarded the lsquogreatest of all timersquoIt wasnrsquot until midspring that she committed to training seriously after talking about it over margaritas with her coaches It wasnrsquot until late June that she committed to Saturday nightrsquos US ClassicAnd it wasnrsquot until she stepped onto the podium and heard the shrieks of support and the sea of handmade signs that the noise she had been grappling with for 732 days finally fell silent Pindrop silenceShe was back in her safe space Back in front of a spirited crowd Back in control Back to being the Simone Biles albeit a more mature married 26yearold version who has spent a decade redefining her sportBiles greatness is part skill part work ethic part heart part coaching But come on A lot of people have those things True greatness true evolution and revolution in a sport like this requires the imagination to do it Biles greatness starts at the point where she can see her body doing things that no one has done beforeConfidence growing with every rotation Biles soared to victory in her first meet since the Tokyo Games Her allaround score of 59100 was five points better than runnerup Leann Wong And made all the more remarkable by the fact she didnrsquot really pour herself into preparing until after her wedding to Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens in late AprilldquoI feel really good about where I am right now mentally and physicallyrdquo Biles said ldquoI still think there are some things to work on in my routines but for the first meet back I would say it went pretty well Irsquom very shocked SurprisedrdquoShe posted the best score on three of four events turning what is typically a tuneup meet for the US Championships into a showcase that she remains mdash when shersquos at or near her best mdash a singular force in her sportThe only time she seemed out of place at the NOW Arena was when she was introduced She scrambled from one side of the floor to the other unsure of where she was supposed to goThe moment passed Minutes later she raised her hands and saluted the judges Then it was the same as it ever was for the most decorated female gymnast in historyRocking a blackandwhite bedazzled leotard and a silicone wedding band she bought from Amazon to wear while she competes Biles electrified a packed house that roared with every spin every flip and yes twistWhile she admitted she is still a little nervous while doing the twisting elements in her routines she certainly looked comfortable during two hours that offered a taste of what could come in the runup to Paris next summerAlso ReadRoger Federer Carving a legacy that defies timeWearing No 231 and sporting mdash at least before she began competing mdash a necklace bearing ldquoOwensrdquo in tribute to her husband she seemed equal parts relaxed and energizedShe began on uneven bars not far from a sign featuring a goat a symbol for ldquoGreatest of All Timerdquo that read ldquoSimone Freaking Bilesrdquo She wasnrsquot perfect nearly stalling near the end of her routine She muscled up and stayed on and when she hit her dismount she cut her eyes off to the side as if to say ldquosheeshrdquoHer score of 14000 was the third best of the competition and a signal of things to come She was as solid and steady as ever on balance beam where she won a bronze in Tokyo after a week of uncertainty a medal shersquos described as one of the sweetest of her careerBiles looks on during the artistic gymnastics womenrsquos team final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Ariake Gymnastics CentreWhile never officially closed the door on Paris at one point she was convinced her career was over Shersquos spent most of the last 24 months preparing for her wedding and planning the rest of her lifeStill the lure of the gym tugged at her though shersquos taking a more muted approach to her comeback than in 2018 or in the runup to Tokyo in 2021At the moment shersquos letting her gymnastics do most of the talking And it spoke loud and clearShe was dynamic on floor exercise where her tumbling passes have long been showstoppers While she and her coaches have tweaked her routines a bit to better take advantage of the sportrsquos updated Code of Points she still does some of the most challenging gymnastics in the sport typically with seemingly effortless easeBiles kept all three of her tumbling passes on the floor inbounds something that was a problem at times in 2021 Her score of 14900 included a start value of 68 a massive amount of difficult No other athlete many of whom grew up idolizing her had a start value higher than 59She finished with a Yurchenko doublepike vault a roundoff onto the table followed by two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees Itrsquos a vault she toyed with in 2021 hoping to pull off in TokyoIt never happened It still might in Paris She hopped a little bit after landing as the arena exploded her 15400 more than a full point better than any of the other 30 athletes managedThe Classic is considered a warmup of sorts The US Championships are later this month with the world championships coming in October and the Olympics less than a year outShersquos trying not to get too far ahead Making it a point to enjoy what she called the ldquolittle winsrdquoldquoI knew I could come back and hopefully have a shotrdquo she said ldquoItrsquos just about really taking care of my body right now So thatrsquos what wersquore to Itrsquos workingrdquoThere is plenty of time to refine things To expand To build Bilesrsquo allaround score Saturday was higher than what she posted at the same meet in 2018 What followed back then was two years of historic dominanceMore may be on the way you and I just donrsquot know yetWith AP inputs