Summer of 2024, when the ultimate competition of sports met the city of love. Paris Olympics 2024. As the medal slid down the neck of Simone Biles, as the blue ribbon rested on her shoulders while the gold felt her heartbeat, there was a person who was head over heels. That was Simone Biles’ ex-coach, Cecile Canqueteau-Landi. The two, who had been together since 2017, parted ways after that as Landi joined Georgia Gymnastics. Biles posted a photo with her on her Instagram stories and wrote, “End of an era 🥹🤞🏾🤍. it’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later.” Now the tables have turned, the coach who once got goodbyes has to give them herself. How does she say it and to whom?

Georgia Gymnastics head coach wrote, “👵🏿is officially retiring after an incredible career,” on her Instagram story while sharing Anaya Smith’s retirement post. “Gymnastics is such a disciplined sport and I am grateful for that. The sport has given me best friends, family, and sisters for life! Thank you to everyone that has been involved in my journey.” Read a part of the gymnast’s Instagram post as she said goodbye to the sport. She talked about how much gymnastics meant to her and how hard it was to give it up. She said she’s hard to deal with and thanked everyone who did. She ended with one last thank you to her mom and then signed off as “Grandma out❤️“.

Simone Biles’ former coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi thanked her, saying, “Thank you for being you & for everything you brought to this team❤️🖤.”  She didn’t stop there. The next story was for Kelsey Lee. “I never imagined closing this chapter so soon, but I’m endlessly grateful for every opportunity, every lesson, & every challenge, this sport has brought me,” read a part of her retirement post.

This also went up on the head coach’s story, and the Coach wrote, “Loved having you by our side all season! You’ll be missed more than you know 🥹Wishing you the very best in your future endevoaurs❤️🖤. Keep being you🥰. So grateful we are friends now😉😘😝.” The Georgia Sophomore was a promising gymnast who had to sit out of the 2024 season due to an arm injury during vault warmup in the first meet against NC State. She highlighted that her retirement comes out of her getting two surgeries in the last year and ultimately zeroing it down to what’s best for her physical and mental health.

These two retiring gymnasts were two of the prominent gymnasts of Gymdogs. Let’s have a look at their career!

Simone Biles’ former coach’s students, Smith and Lee, were promising gymnast

Kelsey Lee’s career has been cut short due to her injury. It is only the second year of her college career when she is retiring. Before her first year was put to rest due to an arm injury, she had her time in the club. She was a part of Georgia’s recruiting class, ranked No. 1 by collegegymnews.com. She trained at Lakewood Ranch Gymnastics and qualified for the Secret Classic in 2016. The woman is the 2017 and 2019 Level 10 Bars State Champion and even qualified for nationals in 2018. She won a Bronze Medal for vault at the Regionals in 2021.

Anaya Smith had quite a career. She started in Oklahoma in 2021, then in 2024 she was in Arizona, and then came 2025, and she is retiring in Georgia. In her collegiate debut in 2021, she earned a team-high 9.850 on vault at No. 2 Oklahoma. She won six vault titles that season. She continued her strong performance on the vault, scoring a 9.925 to match her personal best at the Pac-12s. That score was good for second place in the championships. The then-debutant even scored a 9.900 at the NCAA Regional Finals. In 2022, she only made one appearance.

In 2023, in her junior year, she notched a 9.9+ six times, including two 9.95s. Once again this season, she hit a 9.950 in vault at the NCAA Regional Finals. In a victory over Arizona, she earned a career-best 9.950 on vault — the highest score by any Gym Devil in any event that season and the top vault score for ASU since Ashley Hinkle’s performance on March 7, 2008. In 2024, the year of the Paris Olympics, she went to Arizona State, where she scored a 9.900 or more at the vault eight times and won 7 vault titles.

This was the year she was named to the All-Pac-12 Vault First Team and earned her seventh 9.900 or better on vault with a 9.900 to win the regional title on the event and qualify for nationals. She was the National Runner-Up and First Team all-American in the vault.