American gymnast Simone Biles qualifies for Paris 2024 Olympics

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) They all had a reason to come back. Every single one of them.

Simone Biles will forget those harrowing two weeks in Japan three years ago, when the gymnastics superstar prioritized her mental health and safety over her fame, a decision that inspired some and infuriated others.

Suni Lee wants to prove, perhaps most of all to herself, that the all-around gold medal she won while Biles watched from the stands was no fluke.

Jordan Chiles will turn the team silver she helped secure at the 2020 Games into gold.

Jade Carey will officially be a member of the five-woman Olympic team after earning her spot in Tokyo as an individual qualifier, a path that wasn't available to the United States this time around and, frankly, one she had no desire to explore again anyway.

They all return to the unique spotlight, oh, and 16-year-old newcomer Hezly Rivera, too, that only the biggest sporting stage can provide.

Their reasons are deeply personal, but their motivation is not.

“This is really our redemption tour,” Biles said after winning the U.S. Olympic qualifier for the third time Sunday night. “I feel like we all have more to give.”

No one is more gifted than Biles, who at 27 is the oldest American woman to make an Olympic gymnastics team since the 1950s. She never expected to still be doing the job nearly a decade after becoming a sensation at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

And there she is. Still working. Still pushing. Not to silence the critics who continue to mention her on social media wondering if she'll give up again, but because she remains determined to make the most of her remarkable talent.

“Nobody’s forcing me to do it,” said Biles, who posted a two-day total of 117.225 to win the all-around by nearly six points over Lee. “I wake up every day and choose to work out in the gym and come here to perform for myself. Just to remind myself that I can still do it.”

And to do it at a level that no one else in her sport can and when she's at her best, maybe the sport in general can match her.

Since Biles returned from a two-year hiatus last summer, she never really doubted a trip to France. All she's done in the past 12 months is win a sixth world all-around title and claim her eighth and ninth national championships, both records, while performing the toughest gymnastics of her life.

She will be the big favourite when she steps on the pitch at Bercy Arena, even if she still has a lot of work to do before the women's qualifiers on 28 July. However, there are things to sort out over the next four weeks.

Simone Biles competes at the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Biles backed away after landing her Yurchenko double pike, a testament to both the difficulty of the vault and the immense power she generates in a skill that few male gymnasts attempt, let alone pull off, as cleanly.

She jumped off the beam after failing to land her side vault, though she wasn't as frustrated as she was during a botched performance Friday that left her uttering an expletive for the world to see.

Biles finished the floor exercise, her favorite event, with flying colors. While she took a small step out of bounds, she also displayed an unmatched world-class tumbling that recently earned a glowing tribute from pop star Taylor Swift, whose song Ready For It opens Biles' routine.

She stepped off the podium to a standing ovation, then sat at the top of the steps to enjoy what could be her last competition on American soil for a long time. Maybe forever.

Biles has sidestepped questions about what lies ahead. That can wait. It's been a long, winding road to get back to this moment. She intends to try to enjoy it while being part of a team that will have a lot of weight on its shoulders.

She believes she and her teammates are better placed to handle the situation.

“It's really nice that Tokyo has given us the opportunity to open the door to this discussion,” Biles said. “So I think athletes are a little bit more in tune now and we're just trusting our instincts.”

And Biles instinctively told her that if she wanted to come back, she had to do it on her terms. That meant taking intentional steps to ensure her life was no longer defined by her gymnastics.

Simone Biles competes on the floor exercise during the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

She married Chicago Bears defensive end Jonathan Owens in the spring of 2023 and the two are building a home in the northern suburbs of Houston that they hope to move into shortly after Biles returns from Paris.

Biles heads to France perhaps as the face of the American Olympic movement, even though she is well aware that the more than a million people watching the competition next month will be watching to see if the demons that derailed her in Tokyo resurface.

And while she still experiences moments of anxiety, including during last year's world championships, she has put protective measures in place. She meets with a therapist every week, even during competition season, something she didn't do in preparation for the 2020 Games.

Suni Lee competes on the uneven bars during the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Jade Carey competes on the uneven bars during the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

The Americans will bring their oldest women's team to the Games, thanks to Biles' unmatched longevity (she hasn't lost a competition she started and finished since 2013) and the NCAA's loosening of name, image and likeness rules that have allowed Carey (24), Chiles (23) and Lee (21) to continue competing while enjoying their newfound fame.

They drew on that experience in an at-times grueling encounter that saw top contenders Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello exit with leg injuries that sidelined them from the mix weeks before a lifelong dream was potentially realized.

Watching her good friends leave the arena in tears reminds her of how thin the line between success and failure can be. Biles has been on the right side of that line for longer than she thought. She's going to try to make the most of it, pressure and all.

She may have taken things too lightly in 2021. She has no intention of letting that happen this time around.

“I feel like success is up to me,” she said. “I feel like right now I've managed to make the Olympic trials and make the Paris Olympic team. So we'll see from there.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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