Simone Biles definitely had a Paris Olympics campaign to remember. The gymnast arrived in the French city with a point to prove after her withdrawal from Tokyo left many doubting her potential to compete again on the big stage. But, when odds stack up against someone who is absolutely brilliant at their job, that’s when they shine through even more. Simone ended up winning four medals in Paris with three golds and one silver.

Thus, the gymnast can look back and remember Paris quite fondly. To help her do this, Simone Biles even brought herself a soft toy version of the Olympic mascot called the Phryges. The mascot, which is meant to represent liberty, one ideal of the French Revolution, was not liked by the audience when it was first introduced. But it eventually grew on them, with many praising the red anthropomorphic cap and buying it, which led to huge sales of it in the country.

Thus, Simone Biles had also bought one herself to keep as a memento. However, her toy seems to be threatened by the arrival of a new member of the Biles family. On December 24th, Simone posted a photo on her Instagram story introducing the world to her parent’s new puppy. She captioned the story, saying, “My parents got a new puppy.” While this generated its fair share of buzz, it was the next story that caught fan’s attention.

Simone Biles posted another story of the dog after that, showing her keeping the Paris Olympics mascot by her side while she chews on a different toy. It seemed that the mascot was also about to have the same fate, seemingly worrying the gymnast. She captioned the story, saying, “& her favorite toy is Mr. Paris. ‘I will not freak out. I will not freak out.” Thus, it will take some time for Simone to get used to the animal. But the gymnast has always had a connection with dogs.

In fact, during the Olympics, Simone Biles and Team USA had taken a therapy dog with them named Beacon, who had been introduced to them during the trials. He had been a source of comfort to the whole team, including the gymnast, and benefited their mental well-being.

The ‘Goodest Boy’ of the US team also highlighted the modern-day struggle of mental health for athletes, which might affect their performances. Of course, the biggest example here is Simone’s Tokyo campaign itself. Thus, there is quite a good chance that Beacon’s presence in the team might have played a role in Simone Biles’ extraordinary performance. This shows that she has always been deeply connected with dogs.

Simone Biles wanted a dog during her childhood

Simone Biles’ tales with dogs even go further than that of the Olympic therapy dog. The gymnastics legend recounted a story in her memoir ‘Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance’, about wanting one when she was a child back in 2008. Simone had asked her father whether she could get one. This was quite an ongoing thing, as both the gymnast and her sister had constantly pestered their father for a dog every year, hoping that he’d buy them one during Christmas.

But the best they got was a stuffed animal. “Look, I got your dogs,” said her dad, smiling. However, Simone was neither satisfied nor ready to back down. She wanted a real dog. Attempting to give proof of her intent, Simone said, “Look how well we took care of Bo (the neighbor’s dog). We’d be really responsible if we got a dog!”

This seemed to have worked on her dad as he started to consider whether he would get Gymnast the dog. Eventually, he gave in and agreed, before giving Simone one condition. “If you train them right, they’re protective, obedient, and playful.” Thus, the gymnast agreed to this, and the family brought a German Shepherd puppy. Thus, this is the story of how Simone Biles’ first dog, Magne Elena Biles, entered into the family.

What are your thoughts about the ‘Gymnast Queen’s’ connection with the dogs? Let us know in the comments down below.