On her first day of competition at the 2024 Olympic Games, gymnast Simone Biles appeared to hurt her leg during a warm-up routine. This injury caused concerns but did not keep her from completing her routines and toping first place in the game.
After the competition, Biles’s coach, Cecile Landi, spoke on the significance of the injury. “She felt a little something in her calf,” Landi said. The apparent injury also bothered Biles in training a couple of weeks ago, according to Landi, but it improved until today’s flare-up. She had her ankle wrapped by medical staff and intends to compete as planned for the rest of the Games.
The U.S. women had the unsettling task of starting on the balance beam, where adrenaline can make staying on the 4-inch apparatus difficult. They did their jobs despite some struggles, and Biles anchored the U.S. beam effort with one of the best routines of her career. She earned a huge 14.733 and will join Lee in the beam finals.
Despite the injury, Biles posted high scores, including a competition-high 15.8 on the vault. Joined by strong performances from her teammates, it was enough to secure a spot for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team in the team all-around final on Tuesday, in which the U.S. is a favorite to win gold. The individual all-around final is set for Thursday.
Landi said there are no concerns “at the moment” about Biles’s ability to compete in those events.
