Thirty-two highly skilled female gymnasts, including the esteemed seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, are set to participate in the upcoming USA Gymnastics women’s national team camp. Scheduled from April 1st to 4th in Katy, Texas, this gathering holds significant importance as it provides a prime opportunity for refining abilities, nurturing team spirit, and strategizing for forthcoming athletic successes.

READ MORE :Weeks Before Joining Hands With Rival Simone Biles, Shilese Jones Heaped Praise On The Champion Gymnast

However, intrigue surrounds Biles’ involvement in this prestigious camp, given her assured berth for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Despite her selection for the April camp, speculation lingers regarding her attendance, primarily fueled by her absence from competitive matches this year, including the Winter Cup. As the season unfolds, the question persists: will Biles grace the camp with her presence, marking a significant stride toward her competitive season’s commencement?

Up to 18 athletes will have the honor of representing the nation in two prestigious competitions: the 2024 Pacific Rim Championships from April 21st to 28th in Cali, Colombia, and the City of Jesolo Trophy on April 20th and 21st in Jesolo, Italy. However, uncertainty clouds the participation of Simone Biles, as her past performances raise doubts.

RELATED :“What Did I Do to Deserve This Man”: Simone Biles Overwhelmed by Husband Jonathan Owens’ Gesture

Looking at her journey, Simone Biles made her senior international debut at the 2013 American Cup, a FIG World Cup event, showcasing her remarkable talent. In the next year, she was supposed to perform Pacific Rim Championships, but an injury sidelined her at the start of the 2014 season. Then she returned with vigor in April 2016 at the Pacific Rim Championships. There, she clinched the all-around title and excelled on vault, floor exercise, and balance beam, contributing significantly to the U.S. team’s victory. Since then she hasn’t performed in the Pacific Rim Championships.

Throughout her illustrious career, Biles has encountered setbacks and triumphs, notably prioritizing her mental health in 2021, which led to her skipping the season Pacific Rim Championships. Despite this, she made a triumphant return at the 2023 U.S. Classic, clinching her record 8th U.S. all-around title. However, she continued showing her dominance in subsequent months as well.

Will Biles once again rock the global stage?

In October 2023, Simone Biles clinched her sixth individual world title in Antwerp, Belgium. Remarkably, she executed a Yurchenko double pike vault, an unprecedented achievement for a woman in competition. This feat earned her the distinction of having the fifth skill listed under her name in the International Gymnastics Federation’s Code of Points. These accomplishments serve as compelling indicators of her readiness for the Paris Olympics, marking her third consecutive appearance at the prestigious event.

This year, she skipped the Winter Cup since she had already secured her spot in the Championships as a current member of the U.S. National Team. Instead, she opted to enjoy a holiday with her husband, cherishing her married life at that time. With just a few months left until Paris 2024, she is yet to make her debut this season. However, lingering uncertainties surround her future involvement, underscoring the unpredictability of her journey. As spectators eagerly anticipate announcements, the question remains: will she grace the April meet with her presence or not?

The most decorated gymnast of all time is eying the Paris Olympics, but says in a new interview that “it won’t absolutely crush me” if it doesn’t happen

Accustomed to reaching new heights in gymnastics, Simone Biles had a low moment after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In an interview for the cover of February’s Vanity Fair, the most decorated gymnast of all time said her experience with the dreaded “twisties” — and the related mental health issues she faced — resulted in a landing far from perfect following the competition.

READ MORE ;Weeks Before Joining Hands With Rival Simone Biles, Shilese Jones Heaped Praise On The Champion Gymnast

She continued, “Even though I was empowering so many people and speaking out about mental health, every time I talked about my experience in Tokyo — because it obviously didn’t go the way that I had planned — it stung a little bit. But all in all, it was the best decision.”

Yet the public narrative which put Biles on a “pedestal as a mental-health advocate” didn’t sit well with the athlete.

“I was not okay with that,” she said. “If I can be a lending hand and help people, then I’ll be open, honest, and vulnerable, but you cannot stick me in front of a crowd and say, ‘Do everything she’s doing.’ ”

JUST IN ;Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas Make List of 22-Year-Old Recently Transferred LSU Athlete: “Greater Because of Her”

SInce her time away from the sport, Biles went on to find personal success away from the mat — marrying Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens last spring — as she gradually mapped a course back to the floor.

In October, the superstar gymnast won her sixth all-around world championship gold in Belgium, and grabbed the record for most international gymnastics medals in the history of the sport.

With her confidence in check and the acknowledgment last year that she has overcome a fear twisting and becoming disoriented in mid-air — which was what forced her to pull out of the team competition and later, all-around events at the Tokyo Olympics — Biles is ready for the Summer Olympics, if that should come to pass.

“If I don’t make it to Paris, it won’t absolutely crush me,” she told Vanity Fair.

Last summer, Biles gave a glimpse about her plans when she spoke with PEOPLE about her comeback and her possible renewed Olympic dream.

RELATED ;EXCLUSIVE: Simone Biles’ 4 Olympic Gold Medals Are a Tough Challenge for Any Gymnast; World Champion Leanne Wong Reveals How She Is Prepping for the Challenge

“Well, in the future, goodness, I feel like Paris is always a good topic to go to, but I think right now, I’m just going to live in the now,” Biles told PEOPLE. “I just did Classics and Championships and I’m out here competing again when I never thought I would be competing, especially back to the same level and having the same confidence.”

Simone Biles became the first female gymnast to win six all-around world titles Friday.

The 26-year-old American tallied 58,399 points in the individual all-around final, in which gymnasts must compete on all four apparatuses — vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Biles won her 27th world medal and became the most decorated gymnast in history.

Reigning champion, Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, won silver with 56,766 points, while another US-based athlete, Shilese Jones, received the bronze medal with 56,332 points.

Biles also led the US women’s team to their seventh consecutive gold on Wednesday.

In the quiet hum of a research laboratory in Gainesville, Florida, amidst the flickering glow of computer screens and the scent of late-night research, infant Leanne Wong lay nestled on a couch. Her parents, Marco Wong and Bee Ding, both dedicated research scientists, toiled tirelessly in pursuit of their career endeavors.

“She was part of the group, burning the midnight oil,” shared Marco Wong, the medical director of a biotech company who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D. Little did they know, their infant daughter would use this very discipline to become a vital member of Team USA’s gymnastics squad while simultaneously pursuing a career in medicine.

READ MORE ;Simone Biles’ Nostalgia Hits Best Friend Jordan Chiles From Their Team Together at the Olympics

As the years passed, Leanne’s path diverged from the sterile confines of the laboratory to the glimmering expanse of an ice skating rink, drawn to the grace and elegance of ice skating. Despite her best efforts, Leanne struggled with the harsh reality of the ice; its unforgiving surface made her fall unbearable. It was amidst these challenges that Leanne discovered a new passion that would shape her destiny.

Her father stumbled upon an interview featuring renowned gymnastics coach Al Fong. Marco ventured to the GAGE Center in Blue Springs, where Leanne would take her first tentative steps into the world of gymnastics. Today, years into this journey, the now 20-year-old Leanne Wong has made history as part of the Florida Gators squad in the 2024 NCAA gymnastics season, is the CEO of Leanne Wong Bowtique, has written a book, and has shared the podium with World Champions and Olympians like Simone Biles.

Leanne Wong’s perspective on competing with icons like Simone Biles for Olympic glory

In an exclusive interview with Essentially Sports, Leanne Wong, the Quest Nutrition partner, opened up about her thoughts on the upcoming Paris Olympics. When questioned, “With Olympians Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas vying for the Paris spot, is there any additional pressure on you?”

The multifaceted gymnast expressed, “It’s amazing to see so many reigning Olympic champions returning to make another Olympic team. The pressure to be one of the gymnasts on the Olympic team is always there, no matter who is trying because there is so much depth in the US National Team.”

RELATED ;Simone Biles Shatters Records: Becomes Most Decorated Gymnast at World Championships

Leanne Wong stands as the sole American female gymnast to feature in all three World Artistic Gymnastics teams of the 2021–2024 quadrennium. At just 20 years old, she has already shared the podium with Simone Biles on significant occasions, notably at the 2023 World Championships, where Team USA clinched gold, and at the US National Championships, where she secured bronze behind Biles and Shilese Jones. Reflecting on her burgeoning status in the elite gymnastics arena, let us delve into her aspirations for the Olympic year ahead.

Her Paris Olympic dream

Leanne Wong served as a traveling alternate at the Tokyo Olympics with Team USA. Now, she aims for her second Olympic appearance. Expressing her aspirations in an interview on February 29, 2024, on Gator Tales with Sean Kelley, Wong said, “Paris would be a dream come true for sure. Going there on an Olympic team and getting to compete for Team USA would definitely be a dream come true.” 

UPDATE ;“I’m Late”: After ‘Stealing’ Comment, Simone Biles Humbly Replies to a Fan

The Quest Nutrition Partner, Leanne Wong, revealed how she reflected on her past experiences at the Tokyo Olympics and how they have shaped her perspective as she prepares for Paris. As we reflect on her journey since her childhood and her dedication to her career, business, and education, we fervently hope this multi-talented young woman achieves Olympic glory, proudly waving the American flag in Paris 2024.

Simone Biles says that she has no regrets at all following the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but adds that she should have withdrawn ahead of the Games. The 24-year-old suffered from the ‘twisties’ during the team final and would also withdraw from the all-around, vault, uneven bars and floor finals. She would return to win bronze on the balance beam.

The 24-year-old gymnast pulled out of four individual Olympic finals during Tokyo to protect her mental health after suffering from the so-called ‘twisties’. She returned to compete in the balance beam final and won a bronze medal.

However, in a profile with The Cut, Biles has said that given the strain she suffered in the lead up to the Olympics, she should have withdrawn from competition before the event.

“If you looked at everything I’ve gone through for the past seven years, I should have never made another Olympic team,” began Biles.

Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, prepared for the Olympics after coming forward as a victim of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal. That fallout continues, with Biles giving her testimony to a US Senate hearing regarding failings in the investigation and prosecution of Nassar just two weeks ago.

“I should have quit way before Tokyo, when Larry Nassar was in the media for two years. It was too much,” she adds.

However, Biles added that she would not allow the disgraced former doctor to undo years of hard work.

However, at the Games, Biles suffered with the so-called ‘twisties’, where athletes lose all perspective of where they are in the air. After pulling out of the team final after her opening vault, she later withdrew from the all-around, vault, uneven bars and floor finals.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist added that the destabilising effect of the ‘twisties’ was similar to a loss of eyesight in everyday life.

“Say up until you are 30 years old you have your complete eyesight,” she added.

“One morning, you wake up, you can’t see s***. But people tell you to go on and do your daily job as if you still have your eyesight. You’d be lost, wouldn’t you?”

“Sometimes it’s like, yeah, I’m perfectly okay with it. Like, that’s how it works. That’s how it panned out. And then other times I’ll just start bawling at the house.”

Biles added that she would not “change anything because everything happens for a reason” despite some less than generous coverage of her decision, and the 24-year-old gymnast said that being Black will have affected that coverage.