With nearly two weeks left for the Paris Olympics, Simone Biles and her teammates find themselves in the eye of a storm! Out of the six members of Team USA gymnasts traveling to Paris, three, including Biles, train at the World Champions Center in Texas. Sadly, their hometown is facing a dampening of spirits as they chase their Olympic dreams. After traveling 6,000 miles across the Atlantic, Hurricane Beryl hit the city of Texas on Monday, wreaking havoc.

This has affected the people and team close to Biles. Even her husband, Jonathan Owens, couldn’t help but weigh in about the destruction caused in their city. As the WCC team inches closer to Paris, even coach Cecile Landi has shared how the storm was a hurdle on their path to the Olympics.

Simone Biles’ coach, Cecile Landi, also left reeling by Hurricane Beryl’s impact

Simone Biles’ close friend and coach, Cecile Landi, shared a story on her Instagram handle on Thursday, July 11, 2024. In the story, she re-shared a post by KPRC2 Houston and wrote alongside penning, “Still w/o power Going on day #4. Trees are still leaning on the power lines.” She added, “Hoping to get it back before we leave for camp & Paris!”

The post by KPRC2 Houston shared an image that caught attention, which showed a wall on the side of I-10 near the Sawyer/Taylor Exit with the words “CENTERPOINTLESS” drawn in blue graffiti. CenterPoint Energy powers 2.6 million customers in the Houston area, out of which  2.3 million lost electricity due to Hurricane Beryl.

This low-end hurricane caused the felling of several trees and knocked down power lines and over a million houses and businesses lost power due to the heavy storm. Despite the storm passing three days ago, 1 million people in Houston, Texas, including Simone Biles’ coach, Cecile Landi, found themselves without power. This clearly has enraged the people who took matters into their own hands, as evidenced of the graffiti sign “CENTERPOINTLESS.” Looking at the condition of their beloved Houston facing the devastating destruction, even Simone Biles’ husband lent his voice to those affected.

Jonathan Owens sympathizes with fellow Texans affected by the storm

Hurricane Beryl tore through the heart of the nation’s fourth-largest city, Texas, on Monday, July 9. With over 80mph winds, the city of Matagorda was in the eastern eyewall, which was the most ferocious part of the Category 1 storm. Hitting close to home and facing the brunt of the storm, even Simone Biles’ NFL husband, Jonathan Owens, was left in despair. On his X platform, Chicago Bears safety Owens wrote on the day of the storm, “Hope everyone is safe out here in Houston,” with a finger-crossed emoji.

Hours after the storm passed, the heavy downpour, strong winds, and a predicted 105-degree Fahrenheit heat wave revealed shocking updates about widespread devastation and nearly 10 deaths in Texas’s Harris, Montgomery, and surrounding counties. Deeply saddened by this, Jonathan Owens once again took to social media and reshared a post from the Houston Chronicle’s Instagram page that reported this aftermath.

He wrote in his caption, “Hurricane Beryl came down on the Houston region and south Texas Monday, bringing heavy rain, flooding and damage to the area.” Extending a personal message to the Texans, Jonathan shared, “Praying for everyone without power still I couldn’t imagine with this heat, stay safe.”

The whole scene comes across as a nightmare for the southern American residents, and gymnastics fans hope that Simone Biles, Cecile Landi, and the Texans on Team USA heading to Paris will soon recover, re-group, and not let Hurricane Beryl dampen their spirits. What are your thoughts on this hurdle faced by the WCC women? Share your thoughts in the comments below!