Current:Home > NewsWhat's it like to train with Simone Biles every day? We asked her teammates. -Blueprint Wealth Network
What's it like to train with Simone Biles every day? We asked her teammates.
View
Date:2025-04-17 01:09:03
Simone Biles saves her coaches time. And headaches.
When the greatest gymnast the sport has ever seen is grinding away every day, it makes it a little hard for anyone else to slack off. When one of the world’s most famous athletes is at the gym before most people have had their coffee or brushed their teeth, the other gymnasts better be up and at ‘em early, too.
And if Biles can pick herself up after the entire world has had a front-row seat to her lowest moment, bouncing back from a bad meet seems a little more doable.
"She’s the key to WCC’s success right now," said Cecile Landi, who along with husband Laurent coaches Biles at the World Champions Centre outside of Houston.
"People say, 'What’s the secret?’ It’s not Laurent and I," Landi said. "It’s really (Biles)."
Meet Team USA: See which athletes made the U.S. Olympic team and where they are from
Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
WCC, which is owned by Biles’ parents Nellie and Ron, has become one of the premier gyms in the country. WCC has two gymnasts on the five-woman US team going to the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles and Jordan Chiles, with Joscelyn Roberson a traveling alternate and Tiana Sumanasekera a non-traveling alternate. It also sent the most gymnasts, five, to the Olympic trials, and had three more at the US championships.
The Landis are a big part of WCC’s draw. Before coming to WCC, they coached Madison Kocian, a gold medalist with Biles on the 2016 Olympic team and a world champion on uneven bars the year before.
But so is the ability to train with Biles.
"Training with Simone is, like, once in a lifetime," said Roberson, who moved to WCC after the US championships in 2022. "She's always so bubbly in the gym. Plus, she can hit. All the time. Like, she never has a bad day, which is insane to me."
Biles would disagree. Although she might make it look easy, even as she’s doing the most difficult skills in the world, it is not. She’s only able to do the mind-blowing things she does because she works. And works. And works some more.
The other WCC gymnasts see that and can’t help but up their own game in response, Cecile Landi said.
"A lot of people are surprised how hard she works on a daily basis," Landi said. "No matter how talented she is, she gets the numbers done. She's here, she works, she is respectful. And she's also helping the girls because she's been through a lot, so when they struggle − I can try to help, but I'm just Cecile. It’s better when it comes from Simone."
Roberson can vouch for that.
More:Meet NBC's Olympic gymnastics broadcaster who will help you understand Simone Biles’ moves
She suffered a "dumpster fire" of an ankle injury during warmups before the team final at last year’s world championships, tearing the deltoid ligament and a tendon, and bruising several bones. Roberson’s recovery was slow, and it was tough emotionally and physically. When Biles saw her struggling, she bought a card and left it on Roberson’s locker.
"It said, 'Keep trying.’ It was just a personal reminder that the little things will add up eventually. 1% better every day, and you’ll get there," Roberson recalled. "I kept it up on my locker and saw it every single day. It really helped."
Biles will also give her teammates tips on technique. Or reminders of what to do on certain skills. As any athlete knows, there are times what a coach is saying doesn’t make sense. Hear it from someone else, or hear it said in a different way, and it does.
"She can say exactly what (Laurent) is saying but differently. And most of the time it works just like that," Roberson said, snapping her fingers.
Jade Carey may not train with Biles, but they are both Tokyo Olympians and have remained friends. When Carey was getting ready to do her Amanar vault at Olympic trials in June, Biles stood alongside the runaway, telling Carey to remember to run easy and step forward.
Biles also stood in the corners, cheering, as Carey did her floor routine.
"It’s just really great to have someone like her supporting all of us and helping us get through it," Carey said.
On and off the floor.
OPINION:Simone Biles changed gymnastics. Now, it has to be more accessible for kids of color
Biles has built up a wealth of knowledge after more than a decade at the elite level, and is happy to share it with her younger teammates. She’ll explain the schedule at a world championships. What to expect at podium training. How to calm nerves before competing. Even what to do during a medals ceremony.
Those might sound like small things, Chiles said, but they make a big difference.
"I understand the process a little more," Chiles said. "Whether it’s my first Olympics, whether it's my first international assignment, whether it's my second Olympic trials, she's been there for me in a million different ways and I can't say thank you enough."
As much as Biles’ teammates get from her, however, she's getting something in return from them, too. She loves being part of a team. Loves having people she can joke around and be silly with, and people who can lift her up when she needs it, too.
She also craves the normalcy they provide her.
Biles knows she is not like other gymnasts. That what she’s doing is extraordinary. But the Landis and her teammates see her every day. If they stood around in awe of her all the time, no one would get any work done.
So they treat her as one of them, even though they’re keenly aware she is one of one.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
veryGood! (77569)
Related
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Miley Cyrus Reveals the Day She Knew Liam Hemsworth Marriage “Was No Longer Going to Work
- Ariana Grande Shows Subtle Sign of Support as Ethan Slater Returns to Instagram
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Moms for Liberty co-founder to state Commission on Ethics
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- Burning Man is ending, but the cleanup from heavy flooding is far from over
- YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke formally charged with 6 felony counts of child abuse
- Dinosaur tracks revealed as river dries up at drought-stricken Texas park
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Christie says DeSantis put ‘politics ahead of his job’ by not seeing Biden during hurricane visit
Ranking
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- George Washington University sheltering in place after homicide suspect escapes from hospital
- Joe Jonas, Sophie Turner and when divorce gossip won't quit
- Trump Media's funding partner gets reprieve only days before possible liquidation
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Maryland officer suspended after video shows him enter back seat of police car with woman
- Jennifer Love Hewitt Addresses Comments She Looks Different After Debuting Drastic Hair Change
- Mississippi invalidates some test scores after probe finds similar responses or changed answers
Recommendation
Selena Gomez engaged to Benny Blanco after 1 year together: 'Forever begins now'
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick celebrate 35 years of marriage: 'Feels like a heartbeat'
5 asteroids passing by Earth this week, 3 the size of planes, NASA says
Sharon Osbourne Shares Experience With Ozempic Amid Weight Loss Journey
Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
29-year-old solo climber who went missing in Rocky Mountains found dead
West Virginia University faculty express symbolic no confidence in President E. Gordon Gee
Texas AG Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial begins with a former ally who reported him to the FBI