It still happens to Simone Biles. Even now, after two Olympics, six world championships, and a decade-plus in the spotlight.
The most decorated gymnast of all time and the face of the U.S. Olympic movement will be chatting with someone when her age comes up.
“They’re like ‘Oh my god, you’re so cute, you’re a kid’” Biles told The Associated Press with a somewhat exasperated laugh. “Like I want to say ‘I’m grown. I’m an adult now. I’m 27 years old.’”
Yet the perception of Biles as a pony-tailed prodigy persists even as the demographics at the top of her sport shift.
Maybe it’s because all but one of the last 13 Olympic champions have been teenagers, including Biles when she triumphed in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago and U.S. teammate and good friend Sunisa Lee, who was 18 when she edged Brazilian star Rebeca Andrade in a taut final in Tokyo in 2021.
They’re both back on what they’ve labeled a “redemption tour.” When Biles and Lee step onto the floor at Bercy Arena on Sunday for Olympic qualifying, they’ll be joined by 2020 Olympic floor champion Jade Carey (24) and 2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles (23) along with newcomer Hezly Rivera, at 16 by far the youngest member of the oldest team the Americans have ever sent to the Games.
Gone are the days when six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman was dubbed the team grandma in 2016 at all of 22, a moniker Biles jokingly admitted she now needs to apologize for using.
“Like I’m ancient now,” Biles said. “Forget grandma, we’re past that.”
A rapid evolution >> Improved training, the easing of rules around name, image and likeness rights for college athletes, and the power of social media are allowing the top Americans to extend their careers.
Carey, Lee and Chiles have spent a significant portion of their time since Tokyo competing at the NCAA level, once thought of strictly as a way for former Olympians to gently ease into retirement.
Not so much anymore. Relaxed NIL rules meant Chiles, Lee and Carey could cash in on their Tokyo success without sacrificing their college eligibility. The frequency of NCAA meets and the emphasis on execution over difficulty let Chiles refine more basic skills while also getting invaluable competition experience without burning out.
“Like, now you can do college and you can go back to elite and go back and forth,” she said.
A new paradigm >> Perhaps the biggest reason may be more fundamental and perhaps more impactful and lasting.
The climate and the culture around elite gymnastics are evolving. So are the power dynamics as the sport becomes more athlete-centric, moving away from a paradigm of authoritarian coach and talented-but-dutiful prodigy that defined success at the highest level for so long.
“People have stopped telling them that they can’t do it,” said Aimee Boorman, who coached Biles earlier in her career and is the co-founder of GIGA, a professional women’s gymnastics league that will launch in 2025. “They’ve stopped telling them they’re washed up at 17 or 18. ... The stigma of ‘little girls in pretty boxes’ is not a thing anymore.”
Biles has been asked repeatedly since she returned to the sport last summer why she’s doing this far closer to her 30th birthday than her 20th. She keeps coming back to some version of the same answer: “Because I can.”
“Nobody is forcing me to do it,” Biles said.