Simone Biles is starting to feel the weight of age, but perhaps not too old to continue her remarkable career. Perhaps.
Just moments after the American gymnastics legend secured her seventh Olympic gold medal during a vault final on Saturday—proving, once again, that at 27, she is in a league of her own—she playfully hesitated when asked whether this might be the last time she launches off the springboard in competition.
While Biles confirmed she was officially retiring her signature Yurchenko double pike vault—saying, “I kind of nailed that one” at the Paris Olympics—she did not dismiss the possibility of returning for the Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
“Never say never,” Biles remarked. “The next Olympics will be on home soil. So you just never know. I am getting really old.”
At times, her age seems inconsequential. After securing gold in the individual all-around and contributing to a commanding team all-around victory, Simone Biles earned her third gold medal in just five days on Saturday.
In recent Olympic cycles, women’s artistic gymnastics has witnessed a transformation. The average age of top competitors has risen, with several prominent gymnasts enjoying extended careers.
When the LA Games arrive in 2028, Biles will be 31 years old. The oldest gymnast to win the all-around title, Maria Gorokhovskaya, clinched gold at age 30 in 1952 representing the Soviet Union. Making history is nothing new for Biles—she’s already the second-oldest gymnast to claim the all-around title. Hungarian gymnast Ágnes Keleti continued to win individual gold medals at the age of 35.
Biles isn’t the only US gymnast eyeing the 2028 Games.
Jade Carey, 24, narrowly missed out on silver to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade in the vault. However, Carey wasn’t dissatisfied. Three years after stumbling during the vault final and finishing at the bottom, she finally found the “redemption” she had yearned for and pointed towards an Olympic comeback.
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“I wanted to show myself that I could complete two vaults in the final,” Carey stated. “(To) walk away with the medal is incredibly special for me.”
Carey’s Olympic journey has come to a close, but Biles’ is not yet finished. She has two more opportunities to add to her medal count in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday. With the prospect of a home Games ahead, she might surpass even that.
