“I am getting old and I have more to lose,” Simone Biles had said to Lemonde back in February. At 27, Simone is the oldest female US gymnast in the last seven decades. She herself is not sure if she will be back four years later to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics. So she must be looking forward to grabbing it all this time in Paris. But is the thought of losing out on some accolades stronger than the well-being of herself? Probably not.

In a July 22 X post, Washington Post reporter Emily Giambalvo shared part of her conversation with Chellsie Memmel, the technical lead of the US high-performance staff. It indicates that Simone Biles might only appear in some events in the all-around title if she finds something inappropriate. According to Chellsie, the decision is up to Biles but the option is available to “put her mind at ease.” Understandably, the revelation raises the question, if Simone doesn’t show up, then what will be at stake?

Keeping the age factor in mind, if Simone can win the all-around title this time, that will be a befitting finish to her unfulfilled dreams from the Tokyo Olympics. Her present form has already displayed that she can bag almost 60 scores by combining the four apparatuses in a single day—away from anyone’s reach.

In the Olympic trials that concluded on June 30, Simone’s overall score touched the ceiling with a whopping 117.225, whereas on day 1, she earned 58.900. So, in the Paris Olympics, she has a major chance to accomplish the highest all-around score ever. By bowing out, that probability would fizzle out. Not only the title, but Simone might also lose out on grounds that have pained her significantly in the past.

Prioritizing her mental health in Tokyo brought Simone under the scanner of the Kangaroo Court. That brutally tagged her “Simone Biles: the quitter.” Those trolls are still out there and they have already started showing their antics.

Comments like, “Please don’t quit on your team again this Olympics,” have already started flying. Going all-out for the team will bring her comeback from last year to a full circle. Her bowing out in Paris will let the haters bring out their claws again. Then why is Simone keeping her options open?

The answer is simple. She is picking her battles wisely. “They’ll still just say, ‘Oh my gosh, are you going to quit again?’ And if I did, what are you going to do about it? Tweet me some more? I’ve already dealt with it for three years,” Simone was quoted by the New York Times a few days back. Sounds defiant? She had to be. After Tokyo, the battle was not just to be back on the mats. But to find her love for gymnastics once again. And that has been a slow and lengthy process with enormous support from her coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi.

Evidently, Simone does not want to lose that composure in the face of crushing competitive pressure. In the team final three gymnasts perform on each apparatus. Simone is expected to earn a spot in all the routines. That means Simone would compete in all four routines in the qualifying round, the team final, and the all-around final within just five days.

longside, she would probably also perform each routine once again in the individual finals. To safeguard Simone from this, Cecile reached out to Memmel to find out, “If she doesn’t feel like it’s going to be in her best interest to do all four events that day, is that an option for her?”

Memmel nodded to that for the best interest of Simone. But what implications will it have on the team? To tell the truth, the US side is already looking strong this year. four out of the five members are repeaters from the Tokyo Olympics. Youngster Hezly Rivera has also proven her mettle against seasoned Olympians in the trial.

This comes on top of the added advantage of Russia’s absence. So even with Simone not competing in all the events, the USA’s chances look bright. In the 2023 world championships, the USA won the all-around title with a margin of two points despite the last-minute shuffle because of Joscelyn Roberson’s injury.

Taking into consideration all these, Landi and Memmel both are not in favor of overburdening Simone with the expectation of the entire nation. This feels like a paradigm shift in the gymnastic scenario, looking at the pages of history, since Simone’s predecessors did not always have the cushion to opt out. Let us go back to the year 1996.

Simone Biles leading the makeover of the gymnastic scenario

18-year-old Kerri Strug was preparing to perform the vault of her lifetime in the Atlanta Olympics. Target? Destroying the Russian domination. Kerri’s already injured ankle seemed too little an excuse to step aside from this duty. And words of encouragement was also there. “You can do it,” coach Bella Karolyi had said to her. But that was not without the next sentence with might not sound much encouraging. “You better do it,” uttered Karolyi. So Strug did it. Or, better be said she had to do it. But at what cost?

Well, the team did not suffer. Strug stuck the landing propelling herself and the team to history. But her embattled left ankle bore the brunt with two torn ligaments. Unable to walk, she had to be carried to the medal ceremony by her coach, a moment that would later become an iconic one. But few people had raised the question if such pain to a mere teenager was really needed. However, their voices were crushed by the wave of patriotism. Want a proof?

“Well, that particular moment, there was not consideration about how serious the injury is. As long as she was standing on her feet,” Karolyi had said on Today after the so-called triumph. Only recently, this has been questioned by Strug’s teammate Dominique Dawes in the Netflix docuseries “Simone Biles Rising”. And that very question of worthiness of taking such a toll on oneself is what made Simone Biles step aside 25 years later in Tokyo.

Simone was supposed to perform an Amanar vault that requires 2 1/2 rotations in the team competition. One month back, she had flawlessly landed that in the trials, scoring 15.466. But on that fateful day, she could only manage 1 1/2 twists and the world instantly knew that something was wrong. Simone knew it beforehand. She had been sensing the disorientation in practice. Once again it was a choice between national duties and personal well-being. This time the table turned.

Simone chose the latter. She recognized the danger of competing with twisties that meant in midair, she did not have any idea where she was going. “It’s not worth getting hurt over something so silly, even though it’s so big,” she said after withdrawing from team competition and eventually the individual all-around. “It’s the Olympic Games. But at the end of the day, it’s like, we want to walk out of here, not be dragged out of here on a stretcher. So I’ve got to do what’s best for me,” Simone had told later. Wait before you think anything about her.

This is the same Simone who competed in all four events in the 2023 worlds despite having the option to back out. The change here is, that she is the one to decide. No one else is driving her decisions, compete or not. That is what is making the sport better for Simone and many like her. As Memmel pointed out, “Seeing her now, I think she’s in a really good place. She’s more excited about gymnastics. She’s enjoying it, and I think this is a redemption for her. And I think she’s going to go out and do an amazing job and we’re going to support her.”

We are keeping our fingers crossed!