Simone Biles said last year that she plans to be at the LA28 Olympics, but she doesn’t know whether it will be as a competitor … or as a spectator.
She was asked while at last week’s Laureus Awards if she has “any more indication which capacity” now that the Olympics are two years away.
“I feel like we’re still at a 50-50,” she told CNN in Madrid. “We’re still on a time crunch here. Now it’s almost half of 2026, so we’re gonna have to make these decisions pretty quickly.”
In a follow-up, Biles was asked what she will consider in her decision-making.
“I think mental health plays a big role in it, because, again, physically, my coaches will get me in shape,” she said. “I can get myself in shape. We believe in that ability. We’re really thankful that I’m still healthy. But mental is a huge thing, and it’s a lot of dedication on that, because the road’s not easy. It’s long, but it’s still work.”
Biles, who turned 29 last month, said her body “is still recovering.”
“I was telling my doctor the other day, I was like, ‘You know what? I think I have to start stretching every day because on shoots, they’re always asking to do splits and leaps and jumps,'” she said. “Yeah, I think it’s normal, but with some time off, I tried to do a split the other day, and that kind of hurt, so I’m gonna start doing that and doing Pilates and doing some yoga. So that’s about as far as I got right now.”
After the Tokyo Games in 2021, Biles returned to intermittent training in September 2022, began doing two-a-days at the start of 2023, ramped up her workouts after her May 2023 wedding and returned to competition in August 2023.
During that stretch, she dealt with what she called “demons” in coming back to the gym after her Tokyo Olympic experience.
“I’ve had a little bit of time off here and there (in my career), but it basically was a quick turnaround to get back into the gym,” Biles told CNN. “So now being able to love from afar has been really nice. And when the girls are competing, I’m like, whoa, I’m happy that’s not me at this point.”
Things are different now. For one, it’s a full, four-year Olympic cycle as opposed to the shortened three-year cycle from Tokyo to Paris due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biles’ coaches leading up to Tokyo and to Paris — Cecile and Laurent Landi — no longer work at the Biles family gym in Texas. Cecile is now the head coach at the University of Georgia.
So far, the lone member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic women’s champion team to return to elite competition is its youngest member, Hezly Rivera, who won the 2025 U.S. all-around title.
Last week, Jade Carey posted a video, saying she still has more to give and “I’m not done yet.” Carey did not give a specific timetable for a possible return.
Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles have not announced if they will return to elite gymnastics. Chiles completed her college career — which is different than the elite level — with UCLA at the NCAA Championships earlier this month.
