When Cecile Landi announced her departure from the World Champions Center, the gymnastics fraternity was quite surprised. After all, with Landi bringing in significant success for the WCC athletes, almost nobody wanted her to leave. However, Cecile Landi wanted to explore new opportunities. She wanted to test herself more and get into some uncharted territories. Thus, she took up the responsibility of coaching the Georgia female gymnasts. Bringing in so much experience, the hype was shooting through the roof. Unfortunately, while Landi could not guide her team to the title, she is getting some serious backing from her fellow coach. 

The tenth-ranked Georgia gymnasts dreamt of winning the NCAA title. While they did show glimpses of their incredible gymnastics prowess, the team lacked consistency. Competing in the all-important finals, Georgia managed to rake up 195.950 overall. This was not enough to topple the score of the champions, LSU Tigers, who scored a whopping 198.200. Instead, they secured a seventh-place finish jointly with Auburn. Naturally, the atmosphere around the Georgia locker room was gloomy. Things were also tough for Cecile Landi especially. Thankfully, she had the co-head coach, Ryan Roberts, support her. 

Backing Landi significantly, Roberts stated, “It was a tough night for us overall, but we had some really great performances.” Surely, Landi should be holding her head high. Juniors Csenge Bacskay and Eryn Williams have been phenomenal throughout the meet. In the finals too, it was no different. Bacskay notched up 9.800 on vaults, 9.850 on floor, and 9.875 on bars. Williams too, followed up beautifully. She scored 9.875 on the floor, Georgia enough reasons to cheer about. 

Praises for the same could be heard echoing in Roberts’s comments. He said, “Csenge led us off strong on bars and nailed her other two events. Ja’ Free delivered on bars and beam after the previous two athletes had major errors, which is tough to do, but she did it with confidence.” Roberts also wanted the team to quickly move on from the setback and focus on their next target. Trying to do well in the regionals, the co-head coach of Georgia urged the girls to get back to the drawing board. 

“We are looking forward to getting back in the gym to prepare for regionals and are determined to bounce back,” Roberts said. “We are positioned well to put on a great showing at regionals and move forward from there.” Simone Biles’s former coach will now try to make her team gain significant momentum in the regionals. Speaking of Simone Biles, she had expressed a lot of enthusiasm after Cecile Landi chose to make a bold change in her life.

Simone Biles boldly backs Cecile Landi’s next chapter

Simone Biles is all in on Cecile Landi’s next move! After guiding Biles through a stunning Paris Olympics redemption tour that saw her claim three gold medals and a silver, Landi is stepping into a new role as Georgia gymnastics’ co-head coach. And Biles couldn’t be more excited.

Simone shared with Athens Banner-Herald, “I’m so excited to see Cecile take on this role.” She further added, “It’s way different than elite gymnastics, but she deserves this amazing opportunity after all the years of hard work she’s put in!” Biles, who has worked with Landi since 2017, credited her coach’s motivational and compassionate style for helping her return to the top of the gymnastics world. The queen of gymnastics said, “Cecile is a fun, free spirit, very motivational but also compassionate!” With heartfelt love and respect, Biles shared, “She truly cares for her athletes as if they were her own children.”

The transition from elite coaching to the collegiate level might be a major shift. However, Biles is confident that her mentor’s experience and natural connection with gymnasts will translate seamlessly. “This is Cecile’s dream job,” Biles shared, adding that they had even discussed the opportunity before Landi accepted it. With Simone’s resounding support for Landi, it is clear that Georgia Gymnastics is getting not only a seasoned coach. Moreover, they are also getting a trusted mentor with a proven track record at the highest level of the sport.