Following the disheartening experience of her second Olympics, all Simone Biles longed for was to return home. Yet, even after leaving Tokyo, Biles found herself trailing her teammates to New York, enduring countless painful talk show segments and photo opportunities. The situation was further compounded by a parade in her hometown of Houston. Each time the cameras aimed her way, she forced a smile, concealing her true feelings. When she finally arrived home, the tears came.
Biles has dedicated immense effort to reclaiming her place at the pinnacle of gymnastics following the Tokyo 2020 events. She took a year away from the sport and spent countless hours in therapy, seeking to understand the underlying causes of her mental anguish while also redefining her connection with gymnastics. Now, she states that her performances are for herself.
In October of last year, Biles embarked on a remarkable comeback, clinching four gold medals and one silver at the world championships. Instead of easing back, she dove in headfirst, delivering impressive performances despite the ongoing challenge of regaining her confidence after experiencing issues like the twisties. Now at 27, she is showcasing extraordinary gymnastics.
With another year of training under her belt and bolstered confidence from Antwerp, Biles is even stronger. The US team is heavily favored for the team final, and Biles is set to compete as the top contender in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise events. While she is also a contender for the balance beam title, having won it at last year’s world championships, the competition will be fierce against her teammate Sunisa Lee and Chinese gymnasts Qiu Qiyuan and Zhou Yaqin.
While Biles is widely regarded as the best gymnast globally, her experience in Tokyo highlighted the unpredictability of the sport. This sentiment was echoed last year when Rebeca Andrade, a 25-year-old gymnast from Brazil, emerged as a significant challenger, establishing herself as an elite in her own right. Andrade captured the all-around gold medal at the 2022 world championships, which Biles missed, solidifying her status as the second best gymnast currently.
Andrade’s ambition to be at the top was further emphasized this past Thursday, as she demonstrated her commitment to improvement by performing exceptionally challenging skills across all four apparatuses after watching Biles and Team USA compete.
Rebeca Andrade is clearly currently the second best gymnast in the world. Photograph: Geert vanden Wijngaert/AP
Her ambitious goals were highlighted by her announcement to attempt the triple twisting Yurchenko vault, a notoriously difficult maneuver that has yet to be successfully executed by a female gymnast. While Andrade opted not to showcase it during podium training, she did perform an impressive Yurchenko vault with 2.5 twists. This may be a strategic move to challenge Biles’ Yurchenko Double Pike. Although Biles is the strong favorite in the all-around, vault, and floor events, it’s clear that Andrade will be a formidable competitor if Biles falters.
Beyond the anticipated rivalry between Biles and Andrade, the men’s all-around final is shaping up to feature a strong competition between defending champion Daiki Hashimoto from Japan and China’s Zhang Boheng. At 22 and 24 respectively, both athletes have delivered outstanding performances in the all-around over recent years, hinting at the formation of an era-defining rivalry.
Max Whitlock of Britain is making his fourth Olympic appearance at 31, aiming for further historical achievements. With three Olympic gold medals to his name, Whitlock is vying for a third consecutive pommel horse title but faces tough competition from Rhys McClenaghan, the standout Irish gymnast who has clinched the last two world titles on the apparatus.
Having recently become the vault world champion, Jake Jarman emerges as a key gold medal contender on vault, also possessing the talent to compete for medals on the floor. The British men’s gymnastics team, featuring Whitlock, Jarman, Joe Fraser, Harry Hepworth, and Luke Whitehouse, is buoyed by Fraser’s return from injury. They are likely to be vying for a medal against the United States, while Japan and China are favored for gold.
The road to the Olympics has been particularly challenging for the British women’s team; injuries to Jessica Gadirova, Ondine Achampong, and Jennifer Gadirova—each integral contributors to Olympic and world team medals over the past three years—have left them sidelined. The team’s depth is demonstrated by the competitiveness of Becky Downie, Alice Kinsella, Ruby Evans, Georgia-Mae Fenton, and Abigail Martin, yet they must execute flawlessly.
