Simone Biles is back.
Roughly two years after mental health issues prompted her to withdraw from several events at the Tokyo Olympics, the 19-time world champion will return to competition Saturday night at the 2023 U.S. Classic. The event serves as a qualifier for nationals later this month and comes less than one year from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Biles, 26, has been quietly training for several months and wrote on Instagram this week that she has moved past her bout of “the twisties,” which made her feel lost in the air and led to her withdrawal in Tokyo. She pulled out of the team competition after just one event and skipped all of the individual events except the balance beam, where a reworked routine helped her win bronze.
Biles, the 2016 all-around Olympic champion, is widely considered to be among the greatest gymnasts of all-time.
Here’s what you need to know about Biles’ return at the U.S. Classic:
When is the 2023 U.S. Classic?
Competition runs throughout the weekend at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. But the second session of the women’s competition – when Biles will compete – is Saturday, from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.
How to watch Simone Biles’ return at the 2023 U.S. Classic
Biles’ session of competition will be televised live on CNBC and Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. NBC will also run a show recapping all the highlights from the U.S. Classic from 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Who else is competing at the 2023 U.S. Classic?
Biles will not be the only star making a return this weekend. Suni Lee, the Tokyo Olympics all-around gold medalist, is coming back from a kidney issue that forced her to end her most recent collegiate season early.
Tokyo Olympians Jade Carey, who won gold on floor exercise , and Jordan Chiles, part of the U.S. team that won silver, and world championship medalists Leanne Wong and Kayla DiCello are among the other familiar names who are expected to compete.
Is Simone Biles competing in 2024?
Biles has not explicitly said she is pursuing a spot on the 2024 Olympic team, but her return to competition at this juncture surely suggests that is the case. With one more Olympic medal, she would break her current tie with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals by a U.S. gymnast. (Both women have seven.)
Biles also would tie Vitaly Scherbo as the most-decorated gymnast of all time with another medal at either the world championships later this year or the Olympics. Scherbo, who competed for the Soviet Union, Unified Team and Belarus, won a combined 33 medals at worlds and the Olympics – though he competed in two more events.
How many gold medals does Simone Biles have?
Biles won a whopping four golds at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro – in the team event, individual all-around, vault and floor exercise. She also won a bronze in the balance beam final. In 2021, she managed to win two more medals even while fighting “the twisties” − silver in the team event, and another bronze on balance beam.
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