Simone Biles went into the 2024 Olympics looking to further her resume as the greatest gymnast of all time. She accomplished that goal early in the competition.
Biles was the driving force in the USA's dominant team competition win . She posted the highest all-around score in that competition despite saving her most difficult maneuvers for the individual event finals.
The United States still won by 5.802 points even without her top difficulty scores.
A couple of days later, Biles used her stellar skills on the floor to win a tightly contested battle against Brazil's Rebeca Andrade in the all-around finals. By doing so, Biles became the first female gymnast to win two all-around gold medals since Czechoslovakia's Vera Caslavska in 1968.
Biles managed that feat with an unprecedented, eight-year gap between her all-around gold medals.
It doesn't appear that the 27-year-old Biles is slowing down even as she enters what is typically considered an older age for a gymnast . Even so, her age and decade of experience with USA Gymnastics have led many to wonder whether 2024 would be Biles' last Olympics.
What has Biles said about a potential retirement? Here's what to know about her future beyond the 2024 Olympics.
MORE: Simone Biles, Suni Lee earn podium spots at 2024 Olympics all-around finals
Will Simone Biles be in the next Olympics?
Biles hasn't yet announced whether she is planning to participate in the 2028 Olympics. She was asked about the possibility a few months ahead of the 2024 Olympics in an interview with the Associated Press but didn't provide much clarity about her decision.
"I would never say never and I think that would be amazing to (do this) after every Olympic cycle," Biles said, in reference to her post-Olympics Gold Over America Tour. "I think that would be a beautiful thing.
"But right now I can’t tell you yes or no. Like no definitive answers because I don’t know what life will look like in the next few years to come."
The former statement may have been about her "Gold Over America Tour," but it may also have generally been referring to her life.
Also of note is that Andrade told The Washington Post that Biles had, in a private conversation, "confided that Paris would be her final competition."
"I said, 'No, girl, don’t do this,'" Andrade said, per The Washington Post.
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Many will point out that Biles had similarly hinted that the 2021 Olympics were going to be her last before she decided to return in 2024.
Of course, the circumstances behind her return in 2021 were different. She felt she had unfinished business after a case of the twisties derailed her Olympic campaign in Tokyo.
"I think it’s kind of obvious," Biles said when asked about her return in 2023, per NBC . "I mean, you saw what happened (in Tokyo) – pulling out of five finals (when) I know what I’m capable of and knowing what I can do."
This time, Biles has nothing left to prove. Regardless of what she does in event finals, she already has a team gold to her name and is now one of just three female gymnasts with two all-around gold medals.
If she is content with those results, she may be willing to turn over Team USA to the younger generation.
But if Biles wants to become the second-oldest American female gymnast to ever compete at the Olympics, she could decide to gear up for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
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