Nellie Biles talks reaction to Simone Biles' calf tweak, pride in watching her at Olympics
PARIS — Nellie Biles is happy to see the joy back on her daughter's face at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she told USA TODAY Sports on Monday her heart skipped a beat when Simone Biles briefly left Sunday's qualifying session after tweaking her calf.
"Well, I was worried about that," Nellie Biles said after an appearance on NBC's TODAY show.
"Then I saw her up there to do that Yurchenko (double pike on the vault), I’m like, 'For real?' And then I gave her the thumbs up to see if she was OK and she nodded, so I’m like, 'OK, she’s fine,' and she went and she threw it. It was great. It was great. I’m like, 'OK, then I guess you’re fine.'"
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Biles injured her lower left leg during warmups on floor exercise, when she landed the Biles I, a double layout with a half-twist, and appeared to pull her up her leg. She had a conversation with Laurent Landi, one of her co-coaches, and left the mat with a grim look on her face.
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Nellie Biles said Monday that Simone texted her sister, Adria, and told her to call Nellie and let her know everything was fine. Biles' husband, Jonathan Owens, also called Nellie to ease her concerns.
Cecile Landi, Biles' other coach, said after qualifying Monday that Biles had felt something in her left calf a couple of weeks ago "but after, it stopped. And then just a little again today." Landi said Biles did not give any thought to withdrawing from competition.
Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist, is aiming to break her tie with Shannon Miller as the most-decorated American gymnast in history. She has been a champion for mental health since she dealt a case of the "twisties" that caused her to lose her sense of where she was in the air and put her physical safety at risk. Both Biles' mother and brother, Ron Jr., said Monday they're thrilled to see her healthy and happy ahead at these Paris Olympics.
“I just want to see her just be happy, man, succeed, and we’ve got no expectations as a family," Ron Biles Jr. said. "Not putting anything on her but just want her to feel comfortable, confident, fulfilled when it’s all complete and done. Just really just see her in her element. She’s worked so hard to get back, gone through a lot and I’m just so happy just to see her in Paris."
"I’m very proud as a mother to watch her and see her enjoying what she’s doing," Nellie Biles said. "It’s different. Every time I watch her compete. It all depends on where she’s at mentally, and now I could tell that she’s in a very good place and she’s enjoying it. And you know, it is so good to see. It is so good to see."
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