Simone Biles To Return To Competition One Year Ahead Of Paris Olympics

Seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is planning to return to elite competition for the first time since she bowed out of the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were held in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Biles stepped away from competition, citing concerns over her mental health, and has not competed. In the time since, she joined several teammates in testifying on Capitol Hill about the abuse she and others suffered at the hands of former team doctor Larry Nassar. The 26-year-old gymnast also recently married Green Bay Packers strong safety Jonathan Owens.

But according to ESPN, the once-reigning champion plans to compete at the U.S. Classic in early August – just one year ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Simone Biles plans to compete at the U.S. Classic in early August, her first event since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 🙌 pic.twitter.com/avQHZN5Yxi

— ESPN (@espn) June 28, 2023

USA Gymnastics confirmed the news on Wednesday, announcing that Biles would be entered into the women’s field for the U.S. Classic, which is scheduled to take place on August 4-5 at Chicago’s NOW Arena.

Several of Biles’ teammates from Tokyo will also be entered in Chicago, including Tokyo all-around champion Sunisa Lee – who took home two gold medals from the 2020 Games. Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, who also competed in Tokyo, are slated to compete as well.

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Biles was the biggest name in gymnastics for years, shocking the world when she announced just after her first competition that she would be sitting out the rest of the Tokyo Games.

“Simone has withdrawn from the team final competition due to a medical issue,” U.S.A. Gymnastics said in a statement at the time. “She will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions.”

Biles later revealed that she had suffered from a condition known in gymnastics as “the twisties” — which causes athletes to lose track of where they are during aerial twists and flips and can potentially result in serious injury.

“It’s so dangerous,” Biles said of her experience in Tokyo. “It’s basically life or death. It’s a miracle I landed on my feet. If that was any other person, they would have gone out on a stretcher. As soon as I landed that vault, I went and told my coach: ‘I cannot continue.'”

First Images Of Titan Sub Wreckage Emerge After Pieces Of Vessel Pulled From Ocean Floor

Parts of the doomed Titan submersible that imploded during its voyage to the Titanic wreckage were pulled to shore in Canada Wednesday.

Photos and a video showed crews moving at least three large pieces of the OceanGate submersible off the Horizon Arctic ship in St. Johns, Newfoundland. The largest piece pulled from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean appeared to be full of mechanical parts and wires, while two other pieces looked similar to the sub’s external cover and landing frame, The Daily Mail reported

⚡️The first footage of the wreckage of the sunken submersible"Titan", raised from the depths of the Atlantic pic.twitter.com/cENHjP23Jp

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 28, 2023

Search crews found parts of the Titan’s wreckage at the bottom of the ocean last Thursday, confirming that all five passengers aboard the vessel “had sadly been lost.” The debris field was discovered by a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) deployed by the Horizon Arctic. 

Rear Admiral John Mauger said that the debris discovered was “the tail cone of the Titan submersible approximately 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic on the sea floor.” Additional debris was found, and Mauger said it was “consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.” He said that upon the discovery, officials immediately notified the families that their loved ones were deceased.

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Officials believe it’s likely the submersible imploded hours after its voyage began, and a top-secret U.S. Navy system detected an implosion a short time after learning that the sub lost communication with its mothership, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“The U.S. Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” a senior U.S. Navy official told The Wall Street Journal in a statement. “While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission.”

Those aboard the Titan likely died “in milliseconds,” according to experts who spoke after pieces of the vessel were discovered. 

OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush was piloting the submersible and was joined by billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, British businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, an esteemed French maritime expert with decades of experience diving into the Titanic wreckage.

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