Legendary gymnast Simone Biles has hinted that she may not be done with the Olympic stage just yet, leaving open the possibility of competing at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“Never say never,” Biles told reporters after winning back the Olympic gold in women’s artistic gymnastics vault final. “The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know, but I am getting really old.”
Many had assumed Biles would retire after her “redemption tour” at the Paris Olympics, where she won her 10th Olympic medal in the vault final on Saturday. The 27-year-old superstar said for the first time that the prospect of competing at the next domestic Summer Olympics in the US is not out of the question.
The 2028 Los Angeles Games will mark the first time the Summer Olympics have been held in the United States since 1996 in Atlanta. If Biles were to compete, she would be 31 years old, defying the age barriers that often limit the longevity of elite gymnasts.
Biles’ return to the Olympic stage in Paris was seen as a triumph, after the “twisties” mentally affected her performance in Tokyo and forced her to withdraw from several events.
While reflecting on that experience, she said: “I feel like we all have more to give, and our Tokyo performances weren’t the best. We weren’t under the best circumstances, either, but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes.”
At 27, Biles is already the oldest US Olympic gymnast in 72 years, further solidifying her status as a pioneer and trailblazer in the sport. Her openness to the possibility of competing in 2028 has ignited speculation and excitement among her legions of fans, who will eagerly await her decision in the years to come.
With her all-around victory on Thursday, Biles joined an elite group of only two other gymnasts to accomplish this feat: Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia, both of whom won repeat all-around titles in the 1960s.
Prior to the Paris Olympics, Biles was already the most decorated gymnast in history, combining her world and Olympic medal totals for a staggering 37 medals. And after winning gold in the team event on Tuesday, she became the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history, surpassing Shannon Miller’s previous record of seven medals.
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When asked, she said that it would “definitely” be the last sighting of her iconic namesake vault, the Yurchenko double pike, or “Biles II” which many believe is the most difficult vault in the women’s rulebook.
“I mean, I kind of nailed that one,” Biles said.
The US Olympian acknowledged the physical and emotional toll of the Games.
“I meant the Olympics is such a draining process for the athletes,” she said, “and it’s multiple days of competition, so you definitely have to be on top of your mental as well as your physical. So as long as we’re doing that, then we’re good.”
