MILWAUKEE — Simone Biles wants to go to another Olympics.
A Winter Olympics.
The 27-year-old hasn’t made any decisions about her gymnastics career or competing at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. Biles does know she’s going to take a break when her Gold Over America Tour – GOAT., get it? – wraps up in November, and is looking forward to doing things she’s never had time to before.
Cooking is a new passion. She’s got a restaurant, “Taste of Gold,” opening soon at Houston Intercontinental Airport. She and her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, are planning trips.
And after having lunch in Paris with skiing great Mikaela Shiffrin, Biles would like to attend a Winter Olympics.
“It’s a little bit daunting because, for 20 years, I’ve only done gymnastics. To be real, that’s the only thing I know that I’m good at, because of the hours that I’ve put in,” Biles told USA TODAY Sports. “So it is nice to explore other avenues. That’s really exciting, because you never know where life will take you. To have that time to explore is such a blessing.”
So, too, being able to celebrate her success.
Biles has said the Rio Olympics, where she won four gold medals and a bronze, were something of a blur. They were her first Games, and she was just 19. The Tokyo Olympics were more of a nightmare. Friends and family weren’t able to attend because of tight COVID restrictions, and Biles developed a case of “the twisties” that forced her out of much of the competition.
But Paris allowed Biles a chance to have the full experience. Her family was in the stands as she won four more medals, three of them gold. Even Owens was there for the team and all-around finals after the Bears gave him permission to miss a few days of training camp. Biles stayed in the Olympic village and was able to go to other events after gymnastics was done.
Now her tour is packing arenas across the country, with fans young and old eager to see Biles and her fellow gymnasts in person.
The cast includes Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey, fellow Olympians in both Tokyo and Paris. Josc Roberson and French Olympian Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, both of whom trained with Biles and Chiles in Houston, are also part of the show.
Biles also included male gymnasts in the show this time. Brody Malone, Frederick Richard and Paul Juda, who helped the U.S. men win their first Olympic medal since 2008, are joined by Tokyo Olympians Shane Wiskus and Yul Moldauer.
“This one is just electric. Everyone has such great energy,” Biles said. “A lot of people are still on highs from the Olympics, from their success. So it just feels so much different (from 2021).”
With much of the country still under COVID restrictions then, both crowd sizes and the gymnasts’ interactions with the fans were limited. And because of Biles’ experience in Tokyo, the show centered around themes of mental health and being confident.
While those messages are still present in the current show – in one number, some of the nasty messages Biles got in Tokyo are flashed on the giant video board. In another, each of the Olympians is asked how they’ve gotten to where they are or how they’ve overcome challenges – this year’s tour is much more of a spectacle.
“It’s a celebration, and that’s what we wanted to do,” Biles said. “And you can tell everyone’s having a good time.”
The two-hour show is filled with (mostly) upbeat songs, lively dance numbers and light shows. The gymnastics are watered down from what the athletes would do in competition, but the audience at the Fiserv Forum on Saturday night didn’t care.
They shrieked when they heard Chiles’ floor music from Paris, laughed at Wiskus doing a wolf turn on the balance beam and oohed and aahed as the guys performed on the high bar and pommel horse.
And unlike in 2021, the gymnasts got to interact with fans when they weren’t performing. Ellie Black, a four-time Olympian from Canada, slapped hands with fans in the lower rows after finishing her part in one number. The cast took selfies and signed autographs after the show was over.
“After this Olympics, everyone kind of has been relishing and like, ‘OK, this is what we did in Paris. Let’s celebrate this for as long as possible, till we look forward for the next goal,’” Biles said.
She doesn’t know what that is yet. But she’s looking forward to finding out.
