Simone Biles huddled with Sunisa Lee. She looked to her husband Jonathan Owens in the stands. Lost in the moment. And maybe a touch frantic.
The American gymnastics star knew she was trailing Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour through two rotations during the Olympic all-around final Thursday.
After a sloppy uneven bar that included a mistake Biles can never remember making in competition, she sat in a chair, closed her eyes, ignored the sea of cameras around her, and attempted to refocus.
She and Lee tried to do the math. How bad was it? They weren’t sure. It had been a long time since it was this tight.
Biles checked with Owens, who reassured Biles that she was fine, even though she was in third. His wife of 15 months might not have believed him in the moment.
Yet the jitters eventually faded. The 27-year-old who is redefining what a gymnast can do and how long she can do it went to work.
One stoic beam routine and one-floor exercise that is unlike anything is ever done in her sport later, Biles found herself accepting a gold medal from IOC president Thomas Bach for a second time, this time with Lee standing next to her with a bronze.
