PARIS: Simone Biles has reaffirmed her place at the top of gymnastics royalty in Paris, though she prefers to bask in that glory instead of focusing on her future, which could include a run at her fourth Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
"You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what's next after they win a medal at the Olympics," the 27-year-old posted on X on Sunday.
"Let us soak up the moment we've worked our whole lives for," she said in a follow-up post.
On Saturday, the American vaulted her way to gold, her third of the Paris Games along with a team and all-around win, and when she was asked afterwards if that would be her last ever competitive vault, she left open the possibilities.
"Never say never. The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know. But I am getting really old," she told reporters.
If she returns, a 2028 Biles may look different from previous versions as she suggested she might no longer perform her eponymous Yurchenko double pike vault, which wows crowds with its sheer height and power.
"Is it my last time? Definitely the Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kind of nailed that one," she said in response to being asked whether her competitive vaulting career was over.
Biles has been dominating the gymnastics world for more than a decade, winning her first of six world all-around titles in 2013, and she now owns 10 Olympic medals, seven of them gold.
Her mental health has been in the spotlight ever since she withdrew from several events at the Tokyo Games after experiencing a potentially dangerous mental block known as the "twisties", but with the help of a therapist and support of her teammates, she returned to qualify for Paris after a two-year hiatus from the sport.
On Monday, Biles will attempt to tie United States swimmer Katie Ledecky and Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina as the most golden female Olympian in history with nine gold medals when she competes in the balance beam and floor exercise finals. — Reuters