Simone Biles is giving it another go.
Biles will compete for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics at the U.S. Classic in early August. The meet is a qualifier for the U.S. championships, which means the 2016 Olympic all-around champion will presumably compete there, as well.
Reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee is also in the field for the Classic, which is Aug. 4-5 in suburban Chicago.
Biles’ comeback has been rumored among gymnastics fans for month now, with other gymnasts making reference to her being in the gym and Biles occasionally appearing in the background of others’ photos. But neither Biles nor anyone in her camp had confirmed it before Wednesday’s announcement of the Classic field.
Biles is considered the greatest gymnast of all time, a four-time Olympic gold medalist who can do skills other gymnasts won’t even try in training. But rising anxiety manifested itself in the “twisties” in Tokyo, causing her to lose her sense of where she was in the air. Aside from being psychologically terrifying — “literally cannot tell up from down,” Biles said at one point during those Games — it was also physically dangerous because she could just as easily have landed on her head as her feet.
Biles withdrew one event into the team competition, then withdrew from the all-around, vault, floor exercise and uneven bars finals. She returned for the balance beam final after reworking her routine to remove the elements that required her to twist, and won a bronze medal.
Once revered for her success — she is the most-decorated gymnast, male or female, at the world championships with 25 medals — Biles became a hero to many for championing her mental health and shining a spotlight on the intense stress many athletes experience. She has made a point to prioritize mental health in her appearances since Tokyo, and many athletes have credited her with giving them permission to be open about their own struggles.
