In August, Simone Biles posted a farewell message for her long-time coach, Cecile Landi. Cecile bid adieu to the World Champions Center and traded elite gymnastics, both as a 1996 Olympian for France and a coach, to become the co-head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs gymnastics team with Ryan Roberts. “It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later,” Biles wrote in her IG stories along with a picture of Cecile and her husband, Laurent. Cecile had left for Athens the same month but the next career destination for her husband wasn’t yet confirmed.

Up until that point, Georgia had already fired its coach, 2004 Olympian Courtney Kupets Carter. Then-assistant Ryan Roberts, who applied for the top job, was asked by the athletic director who he’d like to have on his team. Without giving it much thought, Roberts floated the name Cecile Landi. So, when Roberts phoned Cecile about the job offer, Cecile was unsure until her husband intervened, “Just accept. Why would you say no?” That sealed it. But what about Laurent?

All that was confirmed about Laurent at the time was he would stay back in the Houston area with their Olympian daughter Juliette and remain at World Champions Centre a bit longer as his wife begins the new role. Julien had one more year of high school left, post which he was to follow his wife later, with his next job uncertain. But an update on Laurent has just come in. 

After Cecile Landi, it is time for Laurent Landi to bid adieu to the World Champions Center after serving as its head coach for seven years. The WCC’s recent Instagram story captured Laurent’s emotional goodbye to his students, the image tinged with the bittersweet scent of finality. They captioned, “Farewell to Coach Laurent! You will be greatly missed at WCC.

“Lots of laughs and tears were shed as WCC is so grateful for the dedication the Landi’s have bestowed upon generations of WCC gymnasts, coaches, and colleagues. We wish the Landi’s the very best! WCC is excited on what’s to come!!! 😉 Stay tuned!” And as promised as to what would come next, it won’t be long before they share updates on what the new coaching team is going to look like. And it looks like the prep work is well underway!

On October 8, WCC announced they have coaching jobs open. They posted, “🤸🏻‍♀️🤸🏽‍♀️WCC is hiring an XCEL coach, who loves Beam & Floor! 🤸🏿‍♀️🤸🏼‍♀️ Think you have the right stuff?” It’s only fitting for WCC to wait until the Landis have formally left the premises in honor of what they were able to achieve in the seven long years of association.

For now, before the new coaching staff is announced, Laurent Landi leaving the WCC could put a question mark on WCC’s future. And considering whether Simone would compete in the LA Games is speculation too soon to entertain, it would be interesting to see the 7x Olympic gold medalist adjust to the new wave of coaching style. Biles never fit into the stereotypical boxes of a gymnast, and it was only inevitable for the Landis to challenge themselves to break ways with traditional methods. Instead, they devised an entirely different routine for Biles and let her natural instincts do the needful. Speaking about his approach towards training Biles, Laurent stated,

“We’re not always right. If you do your own way all the time, you will hurt the majority of the athletes. Maybe one will survive and will be an amazing person, amazing athlete but the (other) 90%, they will be broken. … We had to adjust to Simone, otherwise we would have broke her.” 

And adjust, they did, to the point where Simone Biles felt dicey ahead of the 2024 Games!

A former member of the French national team, Landi decided to pursue his career in coaching in 1999. Initially, he landed as a coach in his club in Antibes. After gaining significant experience in 2002, he got his big break when he worked with the French Gymnastics National team in Marseille. After moving to Oklahoma in 2004 with Cecile, he took up a job at the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy where they started working with the big names. But it was not until he joined the WCC that he got to show his expertise as a world-class coach.

Nothing could top the final flourish at the Paris Olympics where Biles was eyeing redemption after the twisties incident in Tokyo. However, during warmups on floor, Biles said she felt a weird sensation in her calf and her thoughts jumped to another campaign being cut short. “It’s so annoying,” she said in the Netflix documentary, “Like déjà vu. People are going to think I’m quitting again.” But her coaches rallied around her and Landi knew exactly what to say to her.

Laurent Landi said, “I could see it in her face. She started to freak out,” and told her, “The pain isn’t going to go away, but your readiness isn’t going away either.” Biles would emerge from the pain and successfully compete at the Olympics to win three gold medals.

The departure of Laurent from WCC marks the end of an era and perhaps puts Biles’s gymnastics future under a cloud. Back in September, the GOAT had hinted at possible retirement from the sport altogether. “In gymnastics, the longevity has never ever been there,” Biles told NESN. “I think these last five to six years, we’re really pushing that past our boundaries with the proper training and recovery. Everyone just wants to know what’s next to be the first to report it, and so, right now, it’s working on my mental and physical health before I make any commitments.” 

While Biles is yet to clarify what she has planned next, the Landis are moving in a different direction. Over the years, they have not only been great mentors to Biles, but have grown close and share a family like bond. It remains to be seen what future updates come from the iconic pair.