Simone Biles left the floor briefly with the U.S. gymnastics team doctor, after tweaking her left ankle during warmups on floor exercise. CLICK LINK BELOW

Everything we know about Simone Biles’ calf injury at Olympic qualify-in

PARIS — Relax, everybody. Simone Biles appears to be OK.

Biles powered through the rest of Olympic gymnastics qualifying on Sunday after tweaking her calf during warmups on floor exercise. Cecile Landi, who is one of Biles’ personal coaches and also coach of the U.S. women’s team, said she has no concerns about Biles being able to continue competing at the Paris Olympics.

“She felt better at the end, yeah,” Landi said.

The team final, where the Americans are heavy favorites to win gold, is Tuesday. The all-around final, where Biles is expected to become just the third woman to win a second Olympic title, is Thursday.

Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports’ WhatsApp Channel

2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.

Jul 28, 2024; Paris, France; Simone Biles of the United States performs on the uneven bars in women’s qualification during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Bercy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Chellsie Memmel, the technical lead for the U.S. women’s team, had said last week that Biles doesn’t have to do all four events in team finals if she doesn’t want to. Although that was done so Biles doesn’t feel as if she’s a “gold-medal token” as she was made to feel in Tokyo, having that option available could take on additional importance now.

“First and foremost, I just want to make sure she’s physically OK and then we’re just going to go from there,” Memmel said, noting that she hadn’t had a chance to talk with Biles yet.

During warmups on floor exercise, Biles landed the Biles I, a double layout with a half-twist, and appeared to pull her left leg up. She had a conversation with Laurent Landi, Cecile Landi’s husband and Biles’ co-coach, and then left the mat with a grim look on her face.

After talking with Cecile Landi, she then left the floor with Dr. Marcia Faustin, the team doctor. Biles had felt something in her left calf a couple of weeks ago, Cecile Landi said, “but after, it stopped. And then just a little again today.”

When Biles and Faustin returned from backstage, another member of the medical team taped her ankle tightly. She looked somber as she walked around, as if to test it.

Asked if Biles gave any thought to withdrawing from the competition, Cecile Landi said no.

“Never in her mind,” she said.

Biles might have been in pain, but it didn’t affect her gymnastics. She opened her floor routine with a triple-twisting, double somersault, better known as the Biles II. Aside from being an incredibly difficult skill, it demands a lot — a lot, a lot — of every part of her leg. She went out of bounds on the landing, but that is not out of the ordinary. She did the same thing at meets earlier this summer.

Leave a Comment