Paris 2024 Olympics: Simone Biles stuns Tom Cruise, Ariana Grande and John Legend in epic gymnastics return
Snoop Dogg shook his head in disbelief as he sat in the front row watching Simone Biles compete her breath-taking vault at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Now there's a sentence we never thought we'd write.
The rapper was one of the plethora of celebrities who were at the Bercy Arena in France's capital on Sunday 28 July to watch the women's artistic gymnastics qualification, with particular focus on subdivision two, which featured said sporting icon.
Biles was returning to the Olympic fray after a troublesome time at Tokyo 2020 in which she stepped away from the competition after her first apparatus – the vault, no less – after suffering a case of the twisties in the women's team final, in which she lost awareness in the air.
As one of the faces of the sport, her nation, and the Olympic Games itself, the decision drew plaudits from those around the world from inside the sport and beyond.
"At the end of the day, I have to do what's right for me and focus on my mental health, and not jeopardise my health and well-being," Biles said at the time.
And now, some of those same faces wanted to see for themselves what makes Biles so special, and wow did the most decorated gymnast in history put on a show for them, the fans, and most importantly, for herself.
Tom Cruise, Ariana Grande and John Legend watch Simone Biles at Paris 2024
Tom Cruise watched on, the actor used to performing his own high-flying stunts for his action movies, including riding a motorbike off a ramp into a gorge before parachuting to earth for a scene for Mission Impossible.
But even he was amazed by Biles and the gymnastics performances he was bearing witness, telling Reuters in the arena: “It’s awesome. Great stories, great athletes. It’s incredible what they have to do, the sense of accomplishment,” he said.
Biles in particular performs at the most incredible skill level, including being the only woman in the world, and only a handful of men, to do the crazy-difficult Yurchenko double pike vault.
Singer John Legend definitely did not think Biles was ordinary, as he watched on with model and TV personality wife Chrissy Teigen, as Biles captured hearts across the world with her sensational return to gymnastics.
Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen said there was nowhere they would rather be.
“This was on our bucket list, we wanted to make sure we came to this event. We’re very excited,” Legend told Reuters. “They represent the best of America and we are so proud of them and excited for them. Let’s go USA.”
Oscar-winning actress Jessica Chastain watched on as Biles smiled and waved to the crowd knowing that only phase one of the women's gymnastics competition was done. Despite Biles' own triumphant return, her quest to add the sporting version of the Academy Award to her trophy cabinet is set to continue.
The women's team final in which Team USA want to wrest back their title after claiming silver in Japan, having won the gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, is on 30 July. The individual all-around, in which Biles surely will claim a second Olympic title after doing the same in Brazil, is on 1 August. By day's end, Biles might well have qualified for a number of apparatus finals, too, which take place on 3, 4 and 5 August.
So Biles knows there's more to be done, but the beaming smile emanating across the arena and sprinkling the celebrities, including singer Ariana Grande, with sporting stardust reveals the likely emotions at the heart of this supreme athlete.
Thank you, next.