Simone Biles proves to be unifying figure for sports fans in Paris

Paris – Adriana Moore’s excitement was still at a fever pitch in the minutes after watching American gymnast Simone Biles deliver her latest tour de force at the Olympics in Paris. Moore is a fellow American, she is from New Jersey, and a gymnastic fanatic who has long followed Biles’ career. She decided to come to Paris for the Olympics to celebrate her birthday, inviting her friend Tanya Bascombe, a native of Brooklyn, New York, along with her.Coming to Paris meant, of course, watching Biles perform. The two friends were hardly alone among the thousands of other Americans who crammed into Bercy Arena for the women’s all-around final on Thursday.

 

That included NBA stars Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane was also there. So was International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

Biles is a unifying figure in that way. People, regardless of fame or nationality are drawn to her incandescent brilliance in competition the way many are attracted to soccer great Lionel Messi or NBA superstar LeBron James.

Her star power has brought increased attention to the sport beyond its quadrennial Olympic bump.

“A lot of people know who Simone is,” U.S. teammate Sunisa Lee said.” She is one of the greatest. It’s super special and I feel a lot of people want to watch that.”

Biles showed why she is one of sport’s biggest box office attractions as she flipped and twisted her way to her second gold medal of the Paris Games, and the second all-around title of her career. She is just the third woman to win the event twice. After winning gold on the vault on Saturday, she now owns seven gold medals — and counting.

“She is amazing,” Moore told the Japan Times. “There’s nobody like her. Nobody is even close. I do think she is the best, not just in the gym, but outside the gym, the way she supports the girls, the way she promotes mental health, love everything about her.”

Durant expressed his thoughts in a post on X after the competition, hinting that he thinks she would be a star in his sport, too.

“I really believe Goat Biles can catch a lob and finish,” he wrote.

Biles’ latest triumph comes three years after she pulled out of the competition at the Tokyo Olympics due to her struggles with mental health. Following her victory on Tuesday, Biles said that after what happened in Tokyo, she did not know if she would ever compete again.

She has been very open about her journey since Tokyo and said she had been talking with her therapist (who is in the U.S.) while in Paris despite the time difference. Her frankness helped shine a light on the issue of mental health.

“All in all, I’m super proud of my performance and the fight I’ve had for the last three years, mentally and physically, to get back competing on a world stage,” Biles said. “The Olympic Games is an amazing experience, so I couldn’t be prouder.

“To see where I’ve grown from Tokyo and even the 19-year-old from Rio is amazing. I’m proud of (myself) for putting in the work and never giving up.”

She has attracted fans from all over during her journey.

“She has never ever wavered from being exactly who she is, even under pressure, and I’m just so proud of everything that she has accomplished today,” Bascombe said, surely speaking for many other proud Americans.

While the fans in Paris showed up to support the athletes from their nations, it seemed like everyone was also behind Biles.

The atmosphere felt as if the fans had come to bear witness to a coronation instead of a competition. Similar to the famous story of Larry Bird walking into the locker room before the 1988 NBA 3-point contest to ask “Who’s coming in second,” and then winning it, there is an air of inevitability when Biles competes.

There was, though, a hint of doubt in the all-around final. Biles made a mistake on a transition on the uneven bars that was nearly disastrous, and Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who led the event at one point, pushed her the entire way.

“I’ve put in so many numbers on the bars,” Biles said. “So it was an unfortunate mistake, but I knew to just keep pushing and to not give up. And that’s exactly what you saw out there.

“I think Rebeca Andrade pushes me to be my best as well. She’s a phenomenal athlete and gymnast. So I’m excited that she was there to push me.”

Biles restored order on the balance beam and floor exercise, ultimately beating Andrade, the silver medalist, by 1.199 points. Lee earned bronze.

“It was an honor (to compete against her) because I can see how happy she is to compete again,” Andrade said. “She was enjoying the competition. To have her here with that mindset and behavior is important for us as well.

“What happened in Tokyo was a difficult situation. Here, she was back to 100% and gave her maximum. That was great to see.”