Is Simone Biles planning to retire after the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Can you believe it? Simone Biles, the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history, is poised to add even more accolades at the 2024 Paris Olympics: three additional gold medals, one silver medal, and another all-around title. Truly remarkable—what can’t she achieve?
After stepping back from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental well-being, she is now making a comeback in competitive gymnastics at this year’s Olympic Games. Additionally, she revealed facing challenges with twisties—”mental blocks that create a dangerous disconnect between a gymnast’s mind and body while airborne,” as explained by the Cleveland Clinic.
Her major victory in Paris would be monumental, particularly considering she took a break and officially resumed training in 2023. With that in mind, fans (ourselves included)
) are curious whether the greatest of all time will continue her quest for a gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Here’s everything we know so far about Simone Biles’ potential retirement plans. According to Simone, she’s always open to participating in competitions: “Never say never.” She mentioned on August 3, as reported by Reuters, “The next Olympics are at home, so you never know—but I’m definitely getting older.”
Certainly, age may be just a number, yet most professional gymnasts retire between their early to mid-twenties. At the age of 27, Simone is the second oldest female Olympic all-around champion ever recorded—following Maria Gorokhovskaya who won at 30 during the Helsinki Games in 1952.
It’s still too soon to know for certain or ask about the full impact! At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Simone captured three gold medals and one silver. Despite her historic achievements, both she and teammate Suni Lee had falls on the balance beams, finishing below podium placement.
“Clearly, it wasn’t my top performance,” Simone remarked following the 2024 Olympic gymnastics events, according to NBC Sports. “But ultimately, whoever earns the medal receives it. It’s thrilling because you never know—such is the nature of gymnastics.” She continued, “I can’t be disappointed with how I performed since I’ve accomplished more than I ever imagined in both the Olympics and sports overall. A few years back, I couldn’t have envisioned returning here to compete in the Olympics and securing four medals… I’m incredibly proud of myself.”
Simone addressed the frequent “what’s next” inquiries she receives on social media, stating, “We really should stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics.” She went on to say, “Let’s spend all of our lives enjoying this moment.” Well said!
Sam serves as the deputy editor at Cosmo, focusing on pop culture, entertainment, and celebrity news. Prior to this role, she reported on similar subjects in addition to health, lifestyle, and beauty for Seventeen. Outside of her professional duties like applying blush or reporting live from awards ceremonies via Twitter or creating SwiftToks.