Simone Biles’ Coach Cecile Landi Gets Bigger Payout From Georgia Than Co-Head Coach Ryan Roberts

Georgia Gymnastics quickly named Cecile Canqueteau-Landi, a respected USA Gymnastics coach, and former Georgia assistant Ryan Roberts as co-head coaches following the departure of Courtney Kupets-Carter. This move signifies a strategic shift in leadership for the Bulldogs’ gymnastics program.

In a twist of compensation dynamics, Simone Biles’ coach, Cecile Landi, is reported to be receiving a larger payout from Georgia than her co-head coach, Ryan Roberts. The information was obtained via an open records request by the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday afternoon. Georgia Gymnastics’ new co-head coaches’ compensation signals the school’s strong desire to recapture its former glory in the sport.

According to Online Athens, Georgia Gymnastics will pay Cecile Canqueteau-Landi $340,000 annually and Ryan Roberts $265,000. This is almost a trifold increase in Georgia’s spending for their head coach salary from $207,000 to $605,000 annually. Canqueteau-Landi, previously the personal coach of U.S. Olympic star Simone Biles, coached alongside her husband at the World Champions Centre in Texas.

Prior to hiring Landi and Roberts, Georgia had reportedly pursued LSU head coach Jay Clark to take over their program which came to naught. But, Cecile Landi deserves it. Her higher salary reflects her extensive coaching experience and success in developing elite gymnasts including Madison Kocian and Jordan Chiles. It’s possible that Georgia wants to attract talent into the GymDogs and Cecile Landi is just best for them. In a statement, she said, “Throughout my life, gymnastics has provided me with some extraordinary opportunities, from travelling the world and competing for my country at the Olympics to coaching amazing athletes at the highest level. Those experiences have helped me become the coach that I am while putting athlete’s well-being first and helping them reach their full potential.” So now, maintaining her focus and resilience, Simone Biles gracefully navigates through the aftermath of her ex-coach’s departure.

The 4x Olympic Gold medallist and Cecile Landi have propelled each other to great heights. Under Landi’s guidance, Biles added several notches to her bedpost including World titles in 2018 and 2019. But Simone Biles and her mother Nellie Biles are not holding any grudges. In fact, they’re all heart as they wish Cecile Landi the best in her upcoming transition. Biles’ mother had confirmed that Landi’s tenure will end in July, captioning off with, “We’re so proud of @CLcecile.”

Moreover, Cecile Landi was also in charge of preparing Jordan Chiles for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after her move to the WCC in 2019. Jordan Chiles has gone on to become one of the star gymnasts for the USA Gymnastics team and WCC. Her mother, Gina Chiles, retweeted @UGAGymnastics’s announcement on Cecile Landi and Ryan Roberts co-heading GymDogs. She made her excitement plenty clear with the caption, “So very happy for you @CLcecile!! You’ve been amazing for our daughter @ChilesJordan and you’ll be amazing for many more to come!! Congratulations!” It seems everyone is rallying around Cecile Landi and so are we!