The comeback is complete, redemption has been achieved and gold has been savoured once again by the best gymnast of her generation (if not definitely the best to ever step onto the mat).
Now, the next question for Simone Biles is a complex one: what’s next?
Not that Biles needs to prove her worth to anyone. With 30 World Championship medals and 11 Olympic medals (seven of them gold), she is already the most decorated gymnast of all time.
But now that the women’s artistic gymnastics competition is over — and the Paris Olympics are about to conclude — questions will undoubtedly arise about Biles’ future.
Has this been the last of the greatest gymnast in history on the Olympic stage? And if so, what does the future hold for her?
Simone Biles made a fantastic comeback at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning four medals
But after regaining her success, the question now is what’s next for the gymnast.
Biles’ comeback was nothing short of near-perfect, as she returned to the mat after attempting to bow out gracefully in Tokyo just three years earlier.
After taking time off to focus on her struggles with mental health and “turtles,” Biles competed only on the balance beam in Japan, where she won bronze. She also took home a silver medal in the team event in which she did not compete.
It was a long road for her to feel comfortable competing in gymnastics once again, but she eventually walked that path and returned to the Olympic stage once again.
Her performance in Paris was a real spectacle. Not only did she lead the United States to victory in the team all-around competition, but she also regained her title as the best gymnast of these Olympic Games in the individual all-around competition.
Add to that a gold in the vault and a silver in the floor, and the result is a total of four medals for the Texas gymnast.
It was an emotional Olympics for Biles, especially considering everything she had been through.
“Yesterday when we got back to the village, I looked at Jordan (Chiles) and I started crying,” Biles said on the “TODAY” show on Tuesday. “She told me, ‘I knew it was going to happen, but I didn’t know when.’ I was just so full of emotion and I finally let it out.”
Biles later clarified: “I felt so proud and happy and bittersweet that the journey is over. It’s crazy, it happened so fast. My third Olympics.”
Biles claimed a second team gold for the United States in Paris, along with an individual title.
She also won gold on vault (see above) and a silver medal in the floor routine.
Up next is a 30-city tour where Biles and several American gymnasts will perform for the United States.
The Gold Over America Tour will feature Biles alongside teammates Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, as well as pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik and other gymnasts.
That tour begins in September and ends in early November, with Biles on the road for seven Sundays.
It may not have mattered before her marriage, but now that she’s married to an NFL player, that means Biles won’t be able to watch her husband Jonathan Owens play for the Chicago Bears for some time.
Owens is currently in training camp with the Bears after taking time away from the team to watch Biles compete in the Olympics.
“He was so excited,” Biles said of her husband’s experience cheering her on in France. “He loved coming to watch me compete, he kept score.”
“It meant a lot to him. He’s seen the amount of hours I put into it, so he was really excited to be there.”
Biles and Owens could have their sights set on becoming another NFL power couple, possibly in a similar vein to Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, but that’s hard to say.
Simone Biles kisses her husband Jonathan Owens when he was a member of the Packers
A Green Bay Packers fan holds a sign featuring Taylor Swift and Simone Biles in 2023
Then there’s the question of kids. Biles says she and her husband have been talking about having kids and the idea of starting a family is on their minds.
“Yeah, Jonathan and I always talked about having kids. He would have had them yesterday if he could have. But yeah, I’m definitely thinking about a family,” she said on the TODAY show.
Despite his parents’ athletic backgrounds, Owens says his future children wouldn’t face any pressure to take up sports.
“If that’s what they want to do, I’m not going to try to force them to do anything,” Owens said. People Magazine.
“Obviously, they’ll know what their parents did, so it will be interesting for them and for us to be able to relive those stories and memories with them.”
“And she loves taking pictures and we frame things for her,” she adds of Biles.
“But honestly, whatever they want to do, I’m 100 percent behind them. I don’t want to force them or make them feel like they have to do it because we did it. That usually works with kids.”
Jonathan Owens celebrates his wife’s victory in the team general event in Paris
Despite all the talk about what she might do next, Biles has remained coy.
With the next Summer Olympics set to be held on home soil in 2028, many are wondering if Biles would attempt to take to the mat again.
“Never say never,” Biles said Saturday. “The next Olympics are at home, so you never know. But I’m getting really old.”
She repeated a similar response earlier this week on the Today Show, saying: ‘You know, never say never.
“The next Olympics will be on my home turf, so you never know. I’m going to relax and see where life takes me.”
She also criticised people on social media for trying to get an answer out of her, writing: “You guys really need to stop asking athletes what comes next after winning a medal at the Olympics.”
“Let’s enjoy the moment we’ve been working for all our lives.”
Well, it’s been about four days since she finished competing on the balance beam and floor, so she’s had at least some time to “enjoy the moment.”
Biles would be 31 if she were competing at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
But if she were to make an appearance at the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, it would be unprecedented.
Biles would be 31 when this happens, meaning she would be practically an old lady by gymnastics standards.
Athletes competing in the Olympic Games are typically between 18 and 20 years old.
The fact that Biles competed at 27 is already shocking, even more so at 31.
It would be a matter of speculation to suggest what level of competition Biles would be at, let alone whether she would make the Olympic team.
But if she wanted to go to Los Angeles, her longevity would only cement her legend as one of the best to do it.