Not everyone can pull off what Simone Biles does—who else is rocking 11 Olympic and 30 World Championship medals at 27? As America’s most decorated gymnast and the world’s undisputed GOAT, she’s climbed every mountain the sport has to offer. But it’s her undying passion for gymnastics that keeps her flipping, twisting, and landing those jaw-dropping routines. Sure, she might’ve waved a heartfelt goodbye to her signature vault, but rumors are swirling that the legend might still have enough fuel in the tank for a 2028 LA Games comeback.

“Never say never. The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know. But I am getting really old,” she said post her Paris stint, leaving the door ajar. Whether or not she walks out of it, we’ll know in time. For now, Simone Biles proceeds to the Gold Over America Tour. But one of her compatriots, set to join her there has dropped hinted at his possible exit from the sport, at 25. Call it premature? Well, the athlete begs to differ.

A gymnastics dropout on the cards for Biles’ Gold Over America tour teammate?

A guest on the Sam Oldham Podcast, Ian Gunther disclosed his desire to wave farewell to gymnastics soon. The American is a four-time NCAA team champion, with three on-the-trot wins since 2021 as a Stanford Cardinal. Moreover, he soon joins Simone Biles and others on the upcoming gymnastics tour. But, when asked about his future gymnastics aspirations, none of his competitive plans found a mention. In fact, Gunther was unsure of even waiting for the 2028 LA Games.

Ian Gunther revealed, “Turning 25 in a few days and I don’t know. My body hurts. I am enjoying life outside of gymnastics, but I do love the sport.” Even though he confessed that he’ll miss aspects of the sport in the future, he didn’t foresee himself doing anything ‘too serious competitive-wise’ in the future.

Commenting on how there are huge drop-offs around his current age for most gymnasts, Gunther opined, “Definitely, that’s like the stat. I don’t know exactly off the top my head, but it’s like 1 percent of the college athletes will go pro. And it’s pretty true in gymnastics, also, There’s pretty few gymnasts who will continue to stick around training for whatever other competition after graduation.” Regardless of whether they go elite or stick to college, Gunther feels that only a few gymnasts cross the 25 barrier and still stay at the A-game.

Well, Simone Biles is definitely a paragon of this. She hasn’t fired off concrete retirement plans yet, but as for Gunther, it seems far-fetched that he stays back for the next Olympic cycle. “Am I really gonna go to 2028? I don’t know. I don’t think so, I feel old already,” Gunther seems to battling some grave problems.

Beyond feeling that he is old and injured, the gymnast also feels that the time is ripe to pursue some of his other passions. On the other hand, Simone Biles cannot get enough of her time on the mat. She recently shared a sneak peek into the backend training for the tour and you might want to see that.

Simone Biles’ is already on the next chapter

There’s no time for kicking back and relaxing if you’re as passionate a gymnast as Simone Biles. She recently shared a story on her Instagram from a training session with the boys. As she flaunted a few of her spins, the onlookers cheered and clapped for the G.O.A.T. Until things took a funnier turn.

As two of the male gymnasts, tried their luck on the balance beam, Simone recorded a snippet and captioned it, “okay boys👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽” It looks like Biles is having a fun time on the tour, which is hardly as intense as the competitions she has just returned from. And as she said goodbye to the Yurchenko Double Pike, it was clear that the gymnast wanted to keep things light and easygoing for a while.

But she isn’t ruling out the 2028 Games. Thus, this is hardly the end of the road. Although on the Jimmy Fallon show, Biles admitted that, “First, I’m getting older…27 is a little bit old for a gymnast.” It will certainly take a lot for Simone Biles if she decides to stay in the game till 31, which is when the LA Games come home. But isn’t that the new paradigm?

Oksana Chusovitina, the 49-year-old gymnast who stayed away from her 9th Olympics since 1988 due to an injury. However, she still harbors hopes to be back in LA 2028. Speaking of Paris, Ellie Black, the 29-year-old Canadian gymnast competed and looked in fine fettle. As for Biles, she even shared how nobody forces her to do what she does. “I wake up every day and choose to grind in the gym and come out here and perform for myself,” she says. Thus, it’s safe to say that the days when female gymnasts would retire early are in the past. What do you think? Share your thoughts below!