'It's really inspiring': Simone Biles is back, two years after Olympic withdrawal

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Simone Biles first broached the idea of a comeback with her coach, Cecile Landi, over dinner and margaritas at a Mexican restaurant earlier this year.

More than 18 months after her shocking withdrawal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to mental health concerns, Biles was ready to get back to training and competing again.

"She told me she really wanted to give herself a chance to do it," Landi recalled.

Now, after months of whispers, the moment is here. On Saturday night, Biles will make her return to competitive gymnastics in the Chicago suburbs at the 2023 U.S. Classic, which is a qualifier for the national championships later this month. The 19-time world champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist is expected to compete in all four events. It will be almost two years to the day after her last competitive appearance, on the balance beam in Tokyo.

"I know as an athlete myself, you always want to go out on your own terms and be proud of the performance you did. And I felt like she had more to prove," said Alicia Quinn, the four-time world champion who is now the women's strategic lead for USA Gymnastics.

"I thought she’d come back. I didn’t know when it would be. But I’m happy for her that she’s doing it for herself and seems happy and ready to be back out there."

Biles practiced all four events during podium training Friday morning, drawing cheers from a smattering of fans in the upper levels of NOW Arena after every dismount. She showed off some of her signature skills, including her famed Yurchenko double pike vault, which no other woman has attempted in competition. And she looked at ease while performing a variety of twisting elements − the type of movement that, in Tokyo, made her feel lost in the air and prompted her withdrawal.

Biles politely declined to speak with reporters as she exited the arena afterwards, but she is expected to address the media following competition Saturday night, which runs from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

"I was watching her and she looks amazing," said 2021 Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee, who is making a return of her own this weekend after missing the end of her most recent college season with a kidney issue. "It doesn’t even look like she took a year off, or any time off. I’m like, how do you do that? But again, she’s Simone. She’s just amazing."

Biles, 26, is widely viewed as one of the greatest gymnasts − male or female − in the sport's history. No gymnast has more world championship medals than her 25, and only Shannon Miller has as many career Olympic medals (seven).

Her greatness is what made the events of 2021 so shocking. Biles arrived in Tokyo favored to win four or five gold medals, but she withdrew after just one event in the team competition after experiencing a case of the "twisties" − a dreaded term in the gymnastics world, which has been compared to the yips in baseball. She ended up returning to compete only on balance beam, using a stripped-down routine without any twisting elements and winning bronze.

As the Olympic hype subsided, there were lingering questions about whether Biles would return to competition, or whether she would want to. Then, earlier this year, word began to trickle out that Biles had re-immersed herself in training. Clips of her were posted on social media, then deleted.

"It was on the down low, but not really," said Zoe Miller, who trains alongside Biles at the gym her family owns in Texas. "Just trying to give her her own space and time. It was never really definite until she announced it."

Landi said she saw "a shift" in Biles' training and commitment after she married NFL player Jonathan Owens in April. She was announced in late June as part of the field for the U.S. Classic, then turned in a reportedly terrific performance at a U.S. national team camp in July.

When asked if she's seen any hesitation in Biles as she's returned, Landi said, "We wouldn't be here if we had seen any hesitation." From a skill standpoint, the longtime coach added, Biles can do everything she did before Tokyo.

"She really wants it for herself," Landi said. "She’s a married woman. She’s matured. She knows what she wants. We’re just around her to support her. That’s it.”

Biles has not talked publicly about her plans, including whether she will pursue a spot on Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which are now less than a year away. But if all goes well Saturday night, she will have no problem qualifying for nationals in San Jose, California, later this month, nor the world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, which begin in late September.

Of course, that Biles is back to competing at all is no small feat.

"I feel like I knew that she would kind of want to come back," longtime Team USA teammate Jade Carey said. "It’s really inspiring to see her come back after everything that she’s been through."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.