Simone Biles has hinted that she may not appear at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 as she doesn’t want to appear “greedy”.
Biles added another laurel to her name this week as she was named Sports Illustrated’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year on Thursday (January 2). The prestigious accolade topped off an incredible year for the 27-year-old star after her stunning performance at the Paris Games last summer saw her become the most decorated US gymnast in Olympic history.
Bileswon three golds in Paris: the team event, all-around, and vault. She also took silver in the floor exercise after coming second to Brazilian Rebeca Andrade by the smallest of margins.
The Texas native now holds 11 Olympic medals, seven of which are gold. Her showing in France took her overall career tally of medals to 43, thanks in part to her 23 World Championship gold medals. However, the summer of 2024 may have been the last time fans will have got to witness Biles in action after the athlete demonstrated her humble true colors by hinting that she had won enough.
Caitlin Clark follows in footsteps of Simone Biles and Lionel Messi with huge WNBA offseason boost
Biles’ triumphant comeback in Paris came three years after she suffered the ‘Twisties’ in the Tokyo Games, which forced her to withdraw from the competition. The ‘Twisties’ have been described as a mental block in which athletes can lose their sense of space and dimension when they’re in the air, causing them to lose control of their bodies.
While she is now tied with Vra áslavská as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast of all time, the American star has cast doubt on whether she will give herself a shot at surpassing the Czech legend. A year before the 2024 Olympics, Biles married Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, and she now concedes she has to take her personal life into consideration when ruminating over her future in the sport.
“Life and death,” Biles, 27, said when asked what it would have to take for her to show at the 2028 Games. “Because Ive accomplished so much, theres almost nothing left to do, rather than to just be snobby and to try again and for what? Im at a point in my career where Im humble enough to know when to be done.”
“If you go back, youll be greedy. Those are the consequences. But thats also your decision to decide. What sacrifices would be made if I go back now? When youre younger, its like, prom, college. Now its like, starting a family, being away from my husband. Whats really worth it?” Biles added when talking to Sports Illustrated.
Despite 2028 marking the first time the United States will host the Olympics since 1996, in Atlanta, Biles admitted there still may not be enough incentive for her to launch another bid for glory. She also candidly revealed that she has not yet digested the titanic scale of her achievements.
“I don’t think the reality has set in of what I’ve exactly done in the sport,” she said. “I can see it, and I hear it from people, and I see a glimpse of it, but the full magnitude I don’t think I’ve realized just yet.
“I don’t think I’ll realize ’til maybe I retire and look back in a couple years like, Damn, she was good. Because I can see that, but I do it every day. So for me, it’s normal.”
This isnt the first time Biles has been broached with the subject of the LA Games. Speaking in August, Biles seemed to leave the door open to a return, saying: “Never say never. Next Olympics are at home. So you just never know. I am getting really old.
However, Biles will be 31 when the next summer Olympics commence in July 2028. And her latest comments seem to suggest the Olympic great may have graced the world’s biggest stage for the last time.
Leave a Reply