Simone Biles is heading back to familiar territory.
The legendary gymnast headlines the United States Olympic women’s gymnastics team for the Paris Games, which was officially set at the U.S. Olympic team trials that wrapped up June 30 at Minneapolis’ Target Center.
The team sat down for an exclusive interview with TODAY's Hoda Kotb shortly after the announcement.
Biles will be joined on the squad by Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera, while Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong will serve as alternates.
Biles will be making her third Olympics appearance and is anxious to bring home the gold after the U.S. won the team silver in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“Deja vu, but also I feel like a little bit of a redemption tour,” she told Hoda when she joined her teammates for the interview that aired July 1. “In Tokyo, we all didn’t have our best performances, so we’re excited to go out there and kill it.”
When Hoda brought up the idea that the Olympic trials are even more difficult than the Olympics themselves, Biles pointed to the fact that the roster of talent is so deep.
“Because of the depth that the U.S. has. It's so incredible, so we’re all fighting for basically the same position,” she said. “But that’s what makes Team USA Team USA. We have grit, we have power, we have grace. We kind of have everything. So (we’re) just fighting for that spot.”
Chiles, who showed her emotions during the trials, echoed Biles’ comments that this time out feels like “redemption.”
“Tokyo was a really tough time for a majority of us, and knowing that this is kind of like redemption, and struggles are struggles, but also roads are roads as well, and going down that right road just made it seem a lot better, so that emotion was just like, ‘I’m here! I won! This is crazy, wow!’”
Carey is also ready to show the world what this team can do.
“This means everything to me,” she said. “I think like they’ve been saying, we all have some sort of redemption that we want, so it’s just incredible to be able to be sitting here today and truly enjoying the gymnastics that I’m doing and having fun with all these girls. And I’m excited for Paris.”
Biles, who pulled out of multiple events in Tokyo after suffering from the "twisties," is the marquee name on the roster, a veteran in the sport at the age of 27 and one of its most legendary figures. She says the team is focused on improving from its silver medal in Tokyo.
“We won silver. We will say that, but there were definitely some things that we had to overcome during that meet, and I think we all have a little bit more to give,” she said. “I know we’re more mature. I think our gymnastics is better. I think we’re a little bit more confident in what we’re doing, so we’re excited.”
Lee, who won the all-around gold in Tokyo and has since dealt with a pair of kidney diseases, is also elated to return to the team.
“It feels absolutely insane,” she said. “It was just such a hard, incredible journey. There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick and it was just so hard to, like, stay motivated, watching everybody get better, and I can’t even get back into the gym, and constantly self-doubting myself. But once I had those people around me who lifted me up and supported me, I knew that this is something that I wanted.”
While the squad is filled with veterans, Rivera, 16, is the lone gymnast on the team who will be making her Olympic debut. She has trouble coming to grips with the fact that she, too, will be going to Paris.
“It feels so surreal. I cannot believe that I’m here right now,” she said. “It’s just all my hard work has been paying off. I’m so excited to represent Team USA at the Olympics. I’m shocked.”
The Olympic team trials in Minneapolis finalized the rosters of both the women's and men's gymnastics teams for the Paris Olympics. Read below to find out who made the teams.
Who are the members of the US Olympic women's gymnastics team?
- Simone Biles
- Suni Lee
- Jordan Chiles
- Jade Carey
- Hezly Rivera
- Joscelyn Roberson (alternate)
- Leanne Wong (alternate)
Who are the members of the US Olympic men’s gymnastics team?
- Asher Hong
- Paul Juda
- Brody Malone
- Stephen Nedoroscik
- Frederick Richard
- Shane Wiskus (alternate)
- Khoi Young (alternate)
