Simone Biles had one of the dream comebacks this year. After getting jeered for her Tokyo withdrawals, Biles turned heads when she landed in Paris along with the US women’s gymnastics team. While Biles went on to win three gold medals and a silver medal to leave the audience in awe, two very important women were present with her on her journey: her coach, Cecile Landi, and the team doctor, Dr. Marcia Faustin. 

While Landi constantly helped Biles with the technical nitty-gritty, Faustin helped her with physical conditioning. Coming into Paris, Biles experienced a torn ligament in her calf. This could have been disastrous, as Biles’ hard work for all these years was about to go in vain. Fortunately for the 27-year-old, Dr. Faustin came to her rescue and the Texas native established herself as the gymnastics GOAT. Acknowledging the contributions of both ladies, Simone Biles recently posted a couple of pictures on Instagram together. She captioned her post, “before the year ends, I wanna highlight these 2 ladies thanks for keeping me sane this year and making sure I never gave up on my dreams much love.”

In the picture, both Landi and Dr. Marcia Faustin looked excited to be posing alongside their star pupil. Surely, with the amount of work they have put in day in and day out, the women can surely afford to boast a broad smile at the moment. Dr. Faustin specializes in family and sports medicine. Apart from being the team doctor for the USA women’s gymnastics team, Faustin is also an assistant clinical professor at the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Family and Community Medicine.

Back in Tokyo, it was Dr. Faustin who assessed Biles’ condition after the infamous botched vault. The outcome of the discussion was known to all. Biles walked out of the team and other finals in Tokyo, citing mental health issues. Eerily similar to the situation, Biles once again had Dr. Faustin coming out to attend her in Paris. Only this time, Dr. Marcia Faustin taped her calf tightly and her guidance allowed the GOAT to power through and reach the pinnacle of success in the French capital. Not only Biles, but Dr. Faustin also helped Suni Lee settle in after she came back from a complex kidney issue. Acknowledging her work, a grateful Lee said following the 2023 US Classic, “She’s like my saving angel.” She further added, “When I was going through all of it, she was the first person I called, and she’s been staying with me throughout the whole thing.”

Likewise, Cecile Landi too has a significant influence on Biles becoming the legend that she is today. When Cecile Landi first took Simone Biles under her wing, the 27-year-old was already a global superstar. Elevating someone who’s already the GOAT? No small feat. But Landi, the French coach with a knack for doing the impossible, stepped up to the challenge. Fast-forward to March 2023: over dinner at a Mexican restaurant, Biles dropped a bombshell. “She told me she really wanted to give herself a chance to do it,” Landi recalled. “We had margaritas, and that was it.” Just like that, the comeback wheels were in motion.

Months of grind at the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas, brought Biles back to competition at the Core Hydration Classic in August 2023—her first meet in two years. But after Tokyo, she kept everyone guessing: retirement? 2024? She didn’t say a word. That is, until her name popped up on the June 28 entry list for the meet, sending fans into a frenzy.

Cecile Landi knew she had to throw the gymnastics rulebook out the window to help Biles evolve. Forget the cookie-cutter approach—Biles has never been a ‘textbook gymnast,’ and that’s her superpower. Instead, Landi carefully crafted training sessions to suit her champion’s needs while ditching some of the riskier elements. No triple-double on the floor or double-double dismount off the beam? No problem.

“We just made the routines to use the new Code of Points and make it as mentally and physically comfortable as she could handle,” Cecile Landi told NBC Sports in August 2023. “Might as well try to stick something a little bit easier than trying the hard tricks.”

Even during the all-around finals, when Biles had a slight mix-up on the uneven bars, Landi’s ‘mom mode’ kicked in, keeping the superstar’s head in the game. It’s proof of their bond—part coach, part confidante, full-time support system. And let’s be honest, the redemption tour could’ve gone off the rails in Paris, but with Landi and Dr. Marcia Faustin by her side? Not a chance.

Simone Biles opens up about gruesome injury

Simone Biles termed her Paris run as a ‘redemption tour.’ But soon, she had flashbacks from Tokyo. During the qualification round, the worst nightmares of Biles came true. She felt something snap around her calf! Opening up on Netflix’s documentary, ‘Simone Biles Rising’, the 27-year-old detailed her feelings. It happened at the moment when she was preparing for the team all-around qualification. 

“As soon as I took off I was like, ‘Oh! that hurt really bad,” Biles reflected. She immediately knew that things are not all rosy at the moment. But she was unsure about what exactly happened. Confused about her injury, Biles initially thought, “At first in my head like I’m in the air and I was like, no way that was my Achilles…” She came running to Cecile Landi, terrified of being called a ‘quitter’ again. 

Thankfully, Landi was calm enough to tackle the situation with composure. Reassuring the fans, Landi stated, “We have a good game plan on and she has a compression sleeve to walk around…” Soon it was a combined effort from Cecile Landi and team doctor Marcia Faustin that led Biles power through her pain and etch her name as one of the Greatest Of All Times In Paris.