Simone Biles is getting kind of old for this. Just maybe not too old to keep going. Maybe.
Minutes after the American gymnastics star won the seventh Olympic gold of her career on Saturday in a vault final that left little doubt that even at 27 years old she remains in a class all by herself, she played coy when asked if the event marked the final time she would ever explode off the springboard in competition.
While Biles allowed she was officially retiring her eponymous Yurchenko double pike vault because “I kind of nailed that one” at the Paris Olympics, she didn’t rule out a return to the Games when they move to Los Angeles in 2028.
“Never say never,” Biles said. “Next Olympics are at home. So you just never know. I am getting really old.”
At times, it’s hard to tell. After winning gold in the individual all-around and helping the US to a dominant win in team all-around, Simone Biles picked up her third gold medal in five days on Saturday.
Over the past few Olympic cycles, women’s artistic gymnastics has undergone a sea change. The average age of the best competitors has increased and a number of big names are enjoying extended careers.
By the time LA rolls around in 2028, Biles will be 31. Maria Gorokhovskaya is the oldest gymnast to win the all-around title, taking the gold at 30 years old in 1952 for the Soviet Union. Not that making history would be anything new to Biles – she is already the second-oldest gymnast to take the all-around title. Hungarian Ágnes Keleti continued to win individual gold medals at 35.
Biles is not the only US gymnast who could have eyes on 2028.
Jade Carey, 24, was edged out of silver by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade in the vault. Not that Carey was complaining. Three years after tripping during the vault final and finishing last, Carey achieved the “redemption” she was looking for when she pointed to an Olympic return.
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“I wanted to prove to myself that I can do two vaults in the final,” Carey said. “(To) walk away with the medal is really special for me.”
Carey’s Olympics are over. Biles’ are not. She will have two more chances to boost her medal haul in Paris in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday. And with a home Games ahead, she may go beyond that.
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“I wanted to prove to myself that I can do two vaults in the final,” Carey said. “(To) walk away with the medal is really special for me.”
Carey’s Olympics are over. Biles’ are not. She will have two more chances to boost her medal haul in Paris in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday. And with a home Games ahead, she may go beyond that.
This is what we’re up against
Teams of lawyers from the rich and powerful trying to stop us publishing stories they don’t want you to see.
Lobby groups with opaque funding who are determined to undermine facts about the climate emergency and other established science.
Authoritarian states with no regard for the freedom of the press.
Bad actors spreading disinformation online to undermine democracy.
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