The buzz Around Simone Biles’ 2023 Return Is Papable.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – If you exclude the wedding band, Simone Biles could have been born in 2019. Or 2016. Or 2014.

Many years before Tokyo. Many years before the “twisties.” close before her two-year hiatus, the gymnastics star took a step back, looked closely at her record-breaking career, and concluded she wasn’t done. Still.

On the eve of the U.S. Classic, she stepped onto the floor at NOW Arena, her first competition since winning bronze on the balance beam at the postponed 2020 Olympics, a medal she described as “among the sweetest she’s ever earned.”

She was giggling with her teammates. There she was, jogging, stretching, flipping, and occasionally twisting, with the effortless elegance that the seven-time Olympic medalist possessed when she was at her best.

Those heady days may be coming to an end. Biles is now 26 and in a different stage of her life. In April, she married Green Bay Packers defensive back Jonathan Owens. Her Instagram page mostly comprises pictures of the house they’re building, her dogs, her friends, and very little of the sport she’s helped to redefine.

The specifics of her return following an eventful two weeks at the Tokyo Games, where she removed herself from various competitions while battling a mental block (“the twisties”), have been kept under wraps. The announcement that she would compete on Saturday came from USA Gymnastics, not one of her social media platforms or a T.V. network.

There was no film team following her around. There will be no opening up the gym her family owns north of Houston to the public. There’s a sense that this is more personal for Biles than the build-up to Tokyo.

If you excluded the wedding band, Simone Biles could have been born in 2019. Or 2016. Or 2014.

Nonetheless, the excitement around her comeback is evident. A few hundred fans paid $25 each to watch Biles practice, which is unusual for a modestly attended competition. As of Friday afternoon, the average secondary market ticket price for Saturday night’s evening session featuring Biles and 2020 Olympic champion Suni Lee went up to $400 because whatever seats were available when Biles officially entered the meet vanished within hours.

When she finished an act, yells of “Simone!” rang out around the arena. When she landed her third attempt at a double-pike vault — effectively two backflips with her hands clasped just above her knees — there was a burst of applause, even though she over-rotated a little and went off the back of the mat.

Following that, she approached a sea of cameras and announced, “Welcome to our vlog,” as she walked into the World Championships Centre with several teammates. Rather than pausing to converse, she chuckled and continued on her way, determined to let her actions — at least at this stage in her return — speak louder than her words.

And those actions indicate she is determined to reclaim her position atop the sport but with some changes to accommodate the new point system and to make her as comfortable as possible, both psychologically and physically.

While her coach, Cecile Landi, emphasized that Biles can perform “everything” she’s done before, the Amanar vault, which needs her to twist 2 1/2 times in midair — the same vault that went sideways in Tokyo, forcing her to withdraw — is gone. She’s also not completing her famous double-twisting double backflip beam dismount right now, though it could be because the risk isn’t worth it under the current code.

And to think that Biles didn’t commit to gymnastics until after her wedding in late April. Her workouts have become more efficient, emphasizing quality rather than quantity.

Simone Biles could have been born in 2019 if you excluded the wedding band. Or 2016. Or 2014.

“We wouldn’t be here if we had seen any hesitation (from her),” Landi explained. “It is her desire to be here. We were there for her. We can see it. So long as she says she’s fine, we’re going to keep going.”

Biles dazzled in an internal competition at a U.S. national team training last month, but things will be different under the lights on Saturday.

The landings will be difficult. The results will be recorded. Ratings are expected to rise as admirers and the curious tune in to witness how Biles reacts to being in the spotlight, which she had masterfully commanded until that bizarre night at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre two summers ago.

While the rest of the world may wonder if Biles will be thinking about Tokyo as she stands atop the vault runway, it’s more likely that she’ll think about the next 10 seconds rather than the last couple of years.

Alicia Sacramone Quinn is the strategy lead for the United States’ top women’s program. She was an Olympian fifteen years ago, though errors in two events in the team final contributed to the Americans winning silver rather than gold.

It didn’t deter her. She competed for four more years, making the 2011 world championship team before withdrawing due to injury.

Quinn understands the story of a gymnast regarded as the greatest of all time. She’s also not concerned that it will consume Biles when she salutes the judges and leaps onto the uneven bars on Saturday night.

“You have to kind of train yourself to get out of that mindset,” Quinn explained. “You’re like, ‘I can’t change what happened in the past, so I’m just going to look to the future and try to do my best.'”

SOURCE – (AP)