2017 was when Cecile Landi started working with Simone Biles. Biles was already coming off an Olympic high after four gold and a bronze podium finish in Rio de Janeiro. Lucky for Landi, you’d think? It was quite the opposite. Two medals in Tokyo and a mental block episode later, she withdrew. Obviously, Landi had a lot of thinking to do. 3 years on, Landi’s athlete-centric approach guided the now-11x Olympic medalist to her final flourish, delivering more than what Biles had ever envisioned in her redemptive tour. But all good things must come to an end.

Coach Cecile Landi is now gearing up to join the University of Georgia as the co-head coach. This comes in after the former coach Courtney Kupets Carter was fired by the institute, followed by the assistant coach Ryan Roberts stepping up instead. Roberts, who was completely unaware of the possibility of Landi joining their coaching roster, had named her without a second thought. After all, he has been scouting to get her on his side since his days as an assistant coach with the Crimson Tides.

Landi was approached shortly after by Roberts. Her first reaction? “Ha, good one. You know I can’t go now.”

As per The Washington Post, when Landi got a call from Roberts, she agreed after an initial hitch about the timing. She first thought that next year would be ideal, as her daughter would complete her last year of high school. Beyond that, the Olympics was just around the corner. That’s when her husband Laurant intervened, “Just accept. Why would you say no?” She eventually came around to accept the co-head coach role, stating, “I don’t think I’ll get that good of an opportunity anytime soon.” And guess who was the second person to hype her up? Yes, it was Biles.

The gymnast encouraged her, stating, “Simone was the first one to tell me: I’m so happy for you. You need to go.” In fact, after Landi’s official press release in April, voicing that she would be joining the Bulldogs, Biles posted on social media,

“Congratulations Cecile, I can’t think of a more deserving person.” She also assured UGA Gymnastics that they were in great hands. On the other hand, Cecile’s husband, Laurent, is going to continue his association with the World Champions Center (Texas) for a little while longer along with his 2024 Olympian swimmer-daughter Juliette before their eventual move to Athens. With her husband’s next job uncertain, how much will Cecile make in her next role?

It has been 15 years since Georgia has been able to stamp its authority as a NCAA champion. Quite a relapse considering their five-year winning streak from 2005 to 2009. Landi, whose approach looks like the missing link in the gym culture, will definitely be paid good money for it. Reports suggest an amount close to $340,000 a year salary, a stark 64% hike from what the former coach was given. Ryan Roberts, on the other hand, is expected to receive a yearly $265,000 in salary.

Cecile Landi’s athlete-centric approach didn’t develop overnight. Landi understands having a formalist attitude where a coach reduces an athlete to checking particular “boxes” doesn’t work. For Landi, there are no “boxes.” She, in fact, went as far as saying, “It’s not the athlete that needs to adjust to the coaches. The coaches need to adjust to the athletes and the athlete’s abilities.”

Cecile Landi advocates athletes and coaches learn together

Working with Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles closely, Landi learned a lot as a coach. “Talking with Simone and with the girls…I just want them to know that they can tell me anything. I watch the body language a lot, I try to see. Then I ask, ‘What’s going on? Are you OK? Do you want to talk?” the 1996 Olympian-turned-coach shared in 2023.

She also gave attention to her athletes’ mental health. During the Tokyo Games, when Biles decided to withdraw, Landi supported her decision. “I think we try to listen a little bit more to the athletes because mental health was not real in the nineties for me. It was, ‘You are lazy, you just don’t want to do it,’ or any kind of things like that they would say to us,” Landi recalled.

A recent example of this would be her standing by Jordan Chiles’ side throughout the Paris Olympics bronze medal controversy. When the Court of Arbitration of Sport revoked the decision and declared Ana Barbosu as the bronze medalist, Chiles was seemingly crestfallen. Being subjected to a lot of negativity, she decided to take a break from social media for her mental health. This is when Cecile Landi added a story that read ‘#mentalhealthmatters.’

Even before this, Landi had tried to shun the naysayers. She said, “You don’t have to like it, but you do have to respect the outcome and, more importantly, respect Jordan. She EARNED that bronze medal, her 1st individual Olympic medal…” And to date, Team USA and Cecile Landi refuse to back down, as their fight continues. What do you think of Landi’s support of Jordan Chiles and Simone Biles throughout the years? Let us know in the comments below.