Simone Biles to make return to gymnastics competition in Hoffman Estates – NBC

Simone Biles is set to make her return to gymnastics competition this summer and she’ll do it all in a Chicago suburb.

Marking her first meet since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the four-time Olympic gold medalist will take part in the U.S. Classic in Hoffman Estates on Aug. 4-5.

The annual national championship event is slated to be held at the NOW Arena with ticket prices starting at $78.

“It is exciting to think about the level of talent and historical legacy of the field that may compete at U.S. Classic,” USA Gymnastics Chief Programs Officer Stefanie Korepin said in a statement. “Every athlete is at a different place in their season and career, and we will support each of them, wherever they are in their journey.”

Biles, 27, has still not revealed any plans for the 2024 Olympics, which are set to be held in Paris next summer. She said last summer that she was undecided on a comeback, but that she would be in Paris in some capacity, as an athlete or otherwise.

Biles has taken most of the last two years off following her eventful stay in Japan in the summer of 2021, where her decision to remove herself from multiple events to focus on her mental health shifted the focus from the games themselves to the overall wellness of the athletes.

She served as a cheerleader as her American teammates won the team silver then sat out the all-around, vault and floor exercise finals she had qualified for while dealing with what is known as “the twisties” — a gymnastics term for when an athlete loses their spatial awareness when airborne.

Biles returned for the balance beam final, where she won a bronze medal that tied Shannon Miller’s record for most Olympic medals by an American female gymnast. She hinted at the Paris 2024 Olympics but only after taking a lengthy break.

The last two years have been a whirlwind of sorts. She headlined her post-Olympic tour in the fall of 2021 and married NFL player Jonathan Owens — now a defensive back for the Green Bay Packers — this spring.

Biles has also become one of the most vocal advocates for athletes finding space to protect their mental health after her stand in Japan put the issue front and center. While the conversation around the subject is constantly evolving, Biles’ return to the sport she dominated for nearly a decade suggests an athlete who wants to go out on her own terms.

The U.S. Classic is one of the marquee events on USA Gymnastics’ annual calendar and typically serves as a warm-up of sorts for the national championships, this year scheduled for late August in San Jose.

Biles used the Classic as her comeback meet in 2018 following a two-year hiatus after her record medals haul in Rio de Janeiro. It took her all of two hours to show she remained the gold standard in her sport, setting the stage for another spectacular run that included two more world all-around championships in 2018 and 2019 and three more national titles.

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