Paris 2024 Olympics: Stars who lost confidence in Tokyo primed to shine in France
Friends and family could see it. Fans could see it. Even Taylor Swift could see it. Simone Biles was back.
Competing at the US Olympic Trials in June, the American happily looked like she was enjoying gymnastics again after struggling at Tokyo 2020.
The Texan pulled out of the team event on day one of the finals at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, to look after her mental health after a case of the twisties, described by Biles herself as "her mind and body not in sync."
The result was a loss of aerial awareness on her first apparatus, the vault, looking disoriented on landing after performing a 1.5 twisting Yurchenko instead of a 2.5.
From that moment on, Biles knew what she had to do, face of the Games or not: withdraw from the competition.
Making the very personal decision allowed the seven-time Olympic medallist to safeguard her mental health, physical wellbeing and allow her teammates to continue unencumbered by her struggles.
Quickly, Biles turned from the team's biggest scorer to their most vocal supporter, cheering them on from the sidelines throughout to a silver-medal finish.
Biles, one of the biggest draws in Japan, had, with one very personal decision, brought into focus the conversation surrounding mental wellbeing and self-care. Missing the individual all-around competition, Biles returned for just one apparatus final, the beam, where she won a precious bronze medal.
Yet, despite widespread support from both inside and outside sport, Biles still had issues to conquer if she was to, first of all, get healthy, and second, continue toward Paris 2024 and a third Olympic Games.
Healing involved withdrawing from the sport, with many hours spent in therapy, and enjoying life outside of the gym, including getting married to National Football League player Jonathan Owens.
"I was married to gymnastics … now it's just a part of my day," said Biles of her new perspective.
After a two-year hiatus, international audiences first saw the return of Biles at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp. Winning four golds and a silver, Biles became the most decorated gymnast in World Championships history, with a total of 30 medals.
Quite the way to announce her comeback, then.
“It was emotional, and it means everything,” she said afterwards. “The fight, everything that I’ve put in to get back to this place, feel comfortable and confident enough to compete. It was a lot.”
Staking her claim to a spot in the US team following the trials was the last requirement before booking her ticket to France's capital for the XXXIII Olympiad.
Which is where Taylor Swift comes in.
Commenting on a post showcasing Biles' floor routine, which partially contains her music, Swift wrote:
"Watched this so many times and still unready. She’s ready for it tho."
The slightly clunky response referenced Swift's new track, 'Ready for it?' but the point was made. Swift, like the rest of us, could see the joy in the American's performance as she secured selection for her third Olympic Games.
And we loved to see it.
Caeleb Dressel combines 'normal life' with elite training ahead of Paris 2024
Following in an icon's footsteps can also be rife with difficulty for those tagged with the moniker.
Caeleb Dressel was the swimmer tasked with stepping into the mighty wet footprints of one Michael Phelps, a 28-time Olympic medallist once he retired after Rio 2016.
Dressel overlapped with his compatriot in Brazil, winning two gold in the men's 4x100m freestyle and medley relay, alongside Phelps in both.
By Tokyo 2020, delayed to 2021, Dressel had added five golds – replicating his previous feat and adding individual titles in men's 50m and 100m free plus 100m fly.
The Floridian also has 17 World medals in long course – 15 golds – with just two of those coming since the end of Tokyo 2020; gold in the men's 50m butterfly and 4x100m free at Budapest 2022.
That's because on day four of the World Championships in Hungary, Dressel stepped away from the pool for "health reasons" and didn't return to competing for another nine months.
"I knew I was in a spot where it wasn't healthy. It got to that point where I was like 'If I don't break a world record in whatever event, then my career's a waste.' Like that was my thinking, which is pretty ludicrous," said Dressel in a promotional video in May, accompanied by footage of him on a tractor at his farm.
He also went on a delayed honeymoon to Iceland, hiked a section of the Appalachian Trail and swam with manatees.
"I know I can have swimming and happiness," he posted in September. "I had them both at one point in my life and I’m working on it. If you need a break, take one."
One of his most revealing comments about how he had been feeling came after his return to the pool: "My biggest moment was when I took those nine months off and I got back in the water and they (his team) saw that I was human," Dressel said. "I wasn't a robot. I wasn't just a machine anymore. It was like, 'Oh, he does hurt in practice'. He does struggle. So I think that was really big for my relationship with the team."
Living out on the farm and hanging out with cows and chickens, wife Meghan and baby August, also keep the equilibrium.
"That's what's nice about being on the team now and then and living out here is I just feel, normal. I think that's what a majority of professional athletes all crave."
Adam Peaty on his healthier balance heading toward Paris 2024
Fellow swimmer Adam Peaty, a three-time Olympic gold medallist plus eight World title winner and 15-time European podium topper – all won in an incredible eight-year period – also stepped away from the pool in 2022 to deal with what he calls "the devil on my shoulder."
A number of factors contributed to Peaty's burnout, which saw him turn to alcohol to help him cope: a relationship breakdown, the impact on his performances from a broken foot and being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
A six-month break followed where the man who had clocked the fastest 20 times in history in the 100m breaststroke could take time to reset.
Peaty found more balance within that period, focusing all his energy on his family, including three-year-old son George, friends, his new-found faith and swimming. Yes, swimming, but not as it was before.
This time, instead of chasing medals and records, Peaty had another reason to go through the rigours required of a professional, elite athlete.
“Now I’m just going to come back and give myself the challenge and give myself one huge opportunity to get the best out of myself – in all areas of my life,” he said.
He returned to competition in September 2023 at the Berlin World Cup, where he finished sixth in the 100m breaststroke in 59.85 - three seconds off his world record, but that wasn't the point.
"I'm not doing this for any other person than me, for the first time ever. I don't have to be here. I want to be here, enjoy it and be the best," he said afterwards.
“I want to learn. I want to be a better person. I want to give more to the grassroots and provide more. It’s liberating.”
On 24 June, just more than one month until Paris 2024 begins, Peaty posted: "I knew this journey wouldn’t be easy over the past 12 months and that I’d have to take losses most of the season to protect the training. However, I’m still finding a way through it all. Here we go …"
Here we go, indeed, with the refrain concluding Swift's track perfectly apt for the likes of Biles, Dressel and Peaty.
"Are you ready for it?
Baby, let the games begin."