We all remember French-American Laurent Landi, the one half of the duo charged with steering superstar Simone Biles to ever greater feats. Landi and his wife, Cécile Canqueteau-Landi, started coaching the now 11-time World and four-time Olympic champion Biles on her return to gymnastics in October 2017. After seven years and multiple gold medals, Cécile decided to part ways with the star at the end of the Paris Olympics. Now, it looks like Laurent Landi has welcomed a big change in his life.

The official X handle of the Olympic Committee Mexico shared the big news on February 24, “Big boost for the Mexican gym 🤸‍♀️🇲🇽. The 1st women’s artistic gymnastics diagnostic camp at CDMX was a success. Directed by Laurent Landi, coach of Simone Biles, it brought together #París2024 Olympians Natalia Escalera and Alexa Moreno, alongside international Cassandra Loustalot.“

As a coach, the 47-year-old has trained and mentored 11 U.S. Women’s Senior National Team members, including Olympic and World team and individual champions such as Simone Biles and Madison Kocian, as well as World team champions Alyssa Baumann and Jordan Chiles. Landi began coaching alongside his wife, Cécile Landi, in their native homeland, France, before relocating to the U.S. in 2004. They joined the staff of Texas-based WOGA Gymnastics in 2007, where they coached Baumann and Kocian to international success.

During the subsequent five years, gymnasts coached by the Landis have earned two Olympic team silver medals, three World team titles, and 12 Olympic and World individual medals. Laurent also served as head coach of the U.S. women’s teams at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Olympics. In December 2024, the French coach bid farewell to the World Champions Center after serving as its head coach for seven years. His next chapter in Mexico marks a significant and exciting new direction for his career, and fans are eager to see what’s next.

With the couple stepping into new roles, gymnastics fans are keeping a close eye on how their expertise will shape the next generation of athletes. Laurent’s move to Mexico is seen as a major win for the country’s gymnastics scene, bringing years of world-class experience to aspiring gymnasts. The fans are reacting to the announcement as some seem amused while others seem shocked unable to believe the news.

Fans are amused and shocked by the unusual news regarding Simone Biles’ ex-coach

Before the official announcement by the Twitter handle of the Mexico Olympic Committee, a Reddit account allegedly shared the news claiming to be an insider from the Mexico team. His post about Simone Biles’ Ex-coach sparked a wave of reactions from fans, who were caught off guard by the development.

One user quickly pointed out, “I did not see this coming at all. He had previously coached Alexa Moreno at WCC, so he’s at least familiar with the Mexican Team. I’m really excited to see where he can take Team Mexico, as they were so close to qualifying for the Olympics last quad.” Alexa Moreno trained at the World Champions Centre last year for two weeks. Mexico was on the verge of qualifying a full team but fell short. However, they earned non-nominative spots, which they awarded to Alexa Moreno and Ahtziri Sandoval at their discretion. Many fans were totally aware that this was a big win for the Latin American country.

“Excellent! I would love that for Mexico.“, “What a get for Mexico”– well, looking at the French gymnastics coach’s impressive record so far, this is a rather natural response. One user found the news unexpected and remarked, “Well, this is a rather unexpected announcement!” The surprise was evident across social media, as many had not anticipated Landi making such a move so soon after leaving WCC.

 “I did not see this coming!! Hopefully, he can help with their bars.” This reaction stemmed from Landi’s well-known focus on uneven bars, vaults, and floors. Only Natalia Escalera managed to secure a 12.800, the best score of the Mexican team on the Uneven Bars in the Paris Olympics, but she failed to qualify for the finals. Fans are hopeful that Biles’ ex-coach’s expertise can help elevate Mexico’s performance on this apparatus and secure stronger results in future competitions.

Other users were more concerned about practicalities, “Does he speak Spanish?”, “Wow! 😮 That’s exciting! I wonder how it will work out. I hope it goes well for all involved. I wonder how much Spanish Laurent knows. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if he has learned quite a bit and kept it up while living in Texas for so many years. Does this mean his consulting coaching business was just a short term thing?” Three weeks ago, the 47-year-old posted on his Instagram page, @laurentlandigym, about his initiative to share expert advice with coaches and gymnasts from around the world. The elite gymnastics coach even shared his email address for the purpose. How that panned out we don’t know, but what we do know, there are other exciting things on his plate right now.

 While this transition was unanticipated, the consensus is that it could be a game-changer for Mexico’s gymnastics scene. Whether it leads to Olympic success remains to be seen, but one thing is certain—Landi’s influence is bound to make an impact.