Paris
CNN
—
Simone Biles overcame a sore calf on Sunday to record a stunning all-around result and showcase the qualities that have made her one of the greatest gymnasts of all time in her return to the Olympics.
After giving a flawless performance on the balance beam, scoring 14.733 points – the highest score on the apparatus – Biles landed awkwardly during the warm-up for her floor routine and walked out of the arena before resurfacing to receive heavy tape on her lower left leg.
Biles had been struggling with calf pain two weeks before Paris and it flared up again during Sunday’s competition, her coach Cecile Landy told reporters after the competition.
“She felt something in her leg,” Landy told reporters. “But yeah, that’s it.”
She looked in pain, and limped heavily, but she still managed to twist through the air with her usual strength on all the other apparatus, scoring an impressive 15.800 on the vault, 14.433 on the uneven bars and 14.600 on the floor.
Overall, she scored 59.566 points, her highest total yet and more than three points ahead of teammate Sunny Lee, although she and Team USA won’t have a confirmed spot in the finals until later Sunday once each country completes its qualifying round.
Asked by reporters if she was okay after Sunday’s competition, Biles said sadly, “Yes! I’m as fit as I can be.” She did not continue, and Landi said there were no concerns at this point about her ability to compete throughout the Olympics.
Biles has had a long and well-documented road back to the Olympics, where she faced a mental block known as “Turns” Which forced her to withdraw from multiple events, including the women’s team final, three years ago in Tokyo.
Biles was on the move for much of Sunday’s qualifying, rarely taking time to sit down unless she was working out, in an effort to keep her leg muscles flexible. Although she was clearly uncomfortable during the final three rounds of the day, she didn’t slow down much and moved as strongly as she usually does.
Once she completed all of her routines, Biles seemed to radiate joy as she smiled, waved to the crowd and danced in celebration with her teammates.
She finished the second section of the day topping the all-around competition with top scores on vault and floor exercise – both of which came after her apparent injury – and second-best on balance beam.
“Simone was amazing. She was outstanding. That’s how she trains. I mean, she goes out and gets in the gym and does her thing. She did it on the podium (training). She did it again here. So it’s fun to watch,” USA Gymnastics’ head of artistic gymnastics Chelsea Memmel told reporters after the competition.
Memmel told reporters she couldn’t repeat the thoughts that went through her head publicly after Biles was seen in pain, but she was impressed by the star’s bold performance.
“She’s a gymnast and a person of distinction — like a human being in general — so what she was able to do with her appearance is that she had some pain or something in her lower leg. It’s amazing,” Memmel said.
Gymnastics qualifying runs all day Sunday, so it won’t be clear who will qualify for Tuesday’s medals competition until the evening in Paris.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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