Olympics-Gymnastics-Stars turn out in droves for Biles' Olympic return

By Rory Carroll

PARIS (Reuters) -Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour were among the celebrities packed into Bercy Arena on Sunday to witness the return of Simone Biles to the Olympic gymnastics stage for the qualifying round.

Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, is back for her third Games after withdrawing from most of her events at the Tokyo Games in 2021 with mental health issues.

She leads a veteran squad seeking redemption after the U.S team finished second in Tokyo -- thus ending their hopes of completing a hat-trick of Olympic team titles following their success in 2012 and 2016.

"It's awesome," Cruise told Reuters in the stands at the Arena.

"Great stories, great athletes. It's incredible what they do."

Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen said there was nowhere they would rather be.

"This was on our bucket list. We wanted to make sure we came to this event," he told Reuters.

"They represent the best of America and we are so proud and excited for them. Let's go USA."

The sold-out arena erupted when the U.S. team was announced and let out a deafening roar when four-time Olympic gold medallist Biles was introduced.

Biles abruptly pulled out from the team final at the Tokyo Games after suffering from the "twisties", a term used to describe the temporary loss of spatial awareness while performing high-difficulty elements.

On Sunday she powered the runaway favourites for the team title to the top of the qualifying standings. The top eight qualifiers will contest Tuesday's final.

"She is so resilient," said NFL great Larry Fitzgerald.

"To be able to overcome that and put herself back in position to be able to do something is truly remarkable."

Chellsie Memmel, the technical lead, said the team could handle the pressure of performing in front of the star-studded crowd.

"When they come into the arena they kind of put their blinders on and are focusing on their job," she said.

"But having the amount of energy that the arena has, it fuels them to do even better. It gives them that extra energy, which I think is great."

A five-year-old Biles super fan named Georgia, who was in the stands with her father Andrew Pearce of Alabama, said she planned to follow in her idol's footsteps as she performed some impressive gymnastics manoeuvres in a corridor outside the competition arena.

"I'm practicing because when I grow up, I'm going to be in the Olympics," she said.

(Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, Rory Carroll, Chang-Ran Kim and Karen Braun, editing by Pritha Sarkar)