We all know Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history and a 7-time Olympic medalist. Simone Biles has won numerous honors for the U.S. and is considered the GOAT of gymnastics, boasting 30 World Championship medals. Great gymnasts often come from great coaches, but who is the coach who has trained her and been a pivotal part of her Olympic journey? Simone Biles’ coach, Cecile Landi, has been her pillar since before the 2016 Rio Olympics. Biles won gold in the team event, vault, and floor exercise, and earned bronze on the balance beam.

44-year-old Cecile Landi is the former French artistic gymnast who once graced the world stage, representing France in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and competing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Her first international competition was in 1994 at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Germany, in a team-only event. She then competed at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Japan in 1995 and secured the 39th position in qualification. Cecile Landi still could not make it to the finals because of the three-per-country rule. While competing at the Olympics, she secured the 8th position in qualification with France. Now, she is a gymnast turned coach and trains at the World Champions Centre in Texas, where she shapes and inspires the next generation of athletes.

As a coach, Landi holds a clear vision to adjust with “athletes and the athlete’s abilities.” She believes, “It’s not the athlete that needs to adjust to the coaches.” She has been coaching Biles since 2017 and believes that “An athlete like Simone would never have reached her full potential in France. Because she would have been put aside because she didn’t fit that box.” As Landi stated, she was well suited to “that box” as a gymnast. Reflecting on her gymnastics days, she ensures that the new generation does not have to fit ‘in the box.’

After the news of Cecile Landi turning into a coach broke, Simone Biles stated, “Congratulations, Cecile. I can’t think of a more deserving person. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for UGA Gymnastics! Y’all are in GREAT hands!” But what experience does Cecile Landi have to become the coach of one of the best gymnasts of all time?

The early age of Cecile Landi

Cecile Landi began her gymnastics journey at just 5 years old and started competing nationally by the age of 9. After moving and training at the Club Gymnastique Saint-Giniez in Marseille throughout her career, she performed at several competitions both nationally and internationally. Before retiring in 1999, Cecile Landi competed at the World and European Championships in 1997 and 1998. She married Laurent Landi, a former French national team member, in 2005 and has a daughter. The duo then began coaching gymnastics to upcoming gymnasts and has been a major support to them.

“They’ve been big mentors in like my adulthood (because) they got to see and harness the more mature Simone. They’ve helped me a lot not just in the gym but out of the gym, too.” Cecile Landi and her husband Laurent Landi have been with Simone Biles not only for the game but have supported her in her daily life as well.

Since her retirement, Cecile Landi has trained multiple Olympic medalist gymnasts. There is no doubt that she trains the GOAT gymnast, Simone Biles, who is fiercely competing at the Paris Olympics. “I think I’ve done everything I could do in elite, and beyond what I could ever have imagined as a little French girl in a little town. I’ve coached the greatest of all time. I have coached many kids. I’ve had many great athletes in NCAA and elite that I feel like I want to try what’s next, a new challenge.” 

Simone Biles’ success is deeply tied to her coach, Cecile Landi, who has supported her since before the 2016 Rio Olympics. Landi’s innovative coaching style has helped Biles achieve greatness, emphasizing that coaches should adapt to athletes’ abilities. With a storied career herself, Landi continues to inspire and shape future gymnastics champions at the World Champions Centre in Texas.