Photo: LOIC VENANCE/AFP
A radiant Simone Biles made her long-awaited Olympic return at the Paris Games on Sunday, drawing boisterous cheers and applause from an ecstatic, star-studded crowd in a performance that gave US gymnasts the lead in women's qualifying.
After Biles' brilliance the U.S. enjoyed a commanding lead with 172.296 points, more than five points ahead of second-placed Italy. China, Japan, Britain, Romania and the Netherlands rounded out the standings with five teams still to go later on Sunday.
The top eight teams will compete in Tuesday's team final.
Biles, the world's most decorated gymnast, returned for her third Olympics after she abruptly pulled out from the team final at the Tokyo Games suffering from the "twisties", a term used to describe the temporary loss of spatial awareness while performing high-difficulty elements.
Biles also withdrew from the all-around and a number of apparatus finals in Tokyo, raising questions about whether she would ever set foot in an Olympic arena again.
But after a two-year hiatus and with the help of her teammates and a therapist, she made a glorious return in Paris in front of a crowd at the Bercy Arena that included celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg, reinforcing her status of one of the greatest athletes of all-time.
Photo: LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP
The 27-year-old Biles showed she was back to earn some more glittering gold medals as she laid down the marker in the all-around competition by provisionally topping the qualifying standings with a score of 59.566, more than three points ahead of nearest challenger and reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee.
Biles began on the balance beam, arguably the most difficult apparatus to start on, receiving 14.733 points, scoring just 0.133 less than Zhou Yaqin of China.
Wearing a shimmering leotard featuring thousands of Swarovski crystals, Biles smiled and exhaled as she looked up to the scoreboard, seemingly relieved after completing an impressive performance on the first of four apparatus.
She seemed less pleased, however, with her floor routine, which had a few hiccups but still earned her a score of 14.600 to take the lead for that apparatus.
Biles, competing with her left ankle taped, shook off her sullen expression following the floor exercise, landing a stunning 15.300 on the vault.
Biles' double-piked Yurchenko vault is so difficult that its start value is several tenths of a point higher than any other vault that will be performed by female gymnasts at the Paris Games.
"I think she just competes by herself," British gymnast Ruby Evans said of Biles.
"We've never had anyone like her before and I don't think we ever will, ever again."
On Sunday Biles did not perform the original skill on the uneven bars she had submitted for ratification, but she will have another chance to attempt it during Tuesday's women's final.
After nailing her dismount, a beaming Biles high-fived her coach Laurent Landi and rushed towards the edge of the mat to wave and blow kisses to the euphoric crowd.
Her score of 14.433 provisionally left her eighth in the standings, which means she is unlikely to feature in the bars final as there were three more subdivisions to go in qualifying later on Sunday.
"Simone was outstanding," Chellsie Memmel, the US team's technical lead, told reporters.
"That's how she trains. She comes into the gym and she does her job."
Biles re-aggravated a left calf injury during Sunday's competition and Memmel said it was too soon to say how serious the injury was.
Jordan Chiles of the United States got off to a strong start in her second Games with solid performances on every apparatus.
Lee, who also won a bronze on the bars in Tokyo, posted the third highest score on the apparatus after her battles with kidney disease raised doubts about whether she could return to competition.
Biles' compatriot Jade Carey fell over at the end of her last tumbling pass on the floor exercise and that costly error means she will not get the chance to defend her Olympic title on the apparatus in Paris.
Gasps and looks of disbelief could be seen around the arena when Carey stumbled backwards and sat down on the mat, and that mishap left her with a score of 10.633. It left her languishing in last place among the 30 gymnasts who had so far competed on the floor.
"I haven't been feeling the best the past few days but I gave it everything I had today," Carey posted on X.
"Thank you for all the support I have received. I'm so grateful."
Only the top eight athletes, with a maximum of two per country, advance to the apparatus finals.
Biles and the US were not the only team looking for redemption in Paris.
Romania, who won 10 successive women's Olympic team medals from 1976 to 2012 but then failed to even qualify for the last two Games, are relying on 17-year-old Sabrina Voinea to help end their drought.
Italian hopes are also high after the team qualified ahead of China and Britain despite not having won a team medal for almost a century, their lone medal -- a silver -- coming in 1928 in Amsterdam.
- Reuters