Getty Simone Biles.
A viral video shows gymnastic great Simone Biles crawling on the floor at the Paris Olympics before she performed a first-place qualifying vault on July 28.
According to NBC Chicago, Biles was spotted crawling on the floor “in pain” on July 28 in the women’s gymnastics rounds at the Paris Olympics.
“She’s magnificent! 💕” wrote one fan.
Biles was trying “to avoid putting pressure on her leg due to a calf injury,” NBC Chicago reported. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Biles was seen crawling after a warmup vault. The Los Angeles Times reported that Biles “was crawling on the vault runway to protect her ankle.”
Simone Biles CRAWLING on vault omg idk how she is able to laugh and keep her spirits up after an injury like I would be in tears 100%
She then nailed the qualifying vault a “few minutes later,” according to the Times; according to USA Gymnastics, Biles finished first in the qualifiers for the vault.
The POWER in Simone Biles’ vault. 💥
📺 #ParisOlympics on NBC and Peacock
“Simone Biles will always be famous. Dealing with an injury at the Olympics and having fun & finding joy while pushing through it. What an icon 👑” wrote an X page that shared the video of Biles crawling.
Fans Praised Simone Biles for Fighting Through the Injury
GettySimone Biles.
Social media was filled with fans praising Biles for her grit in the face of an injury.
“Simone Biles CRAWLING on vault omg idk how she is able to laugh and keep her spirits up after an injury like I would be in tears 100%,” a woman wrote.
Simone Biles crawling on that floor has just sent me into orbit 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 that’s how you lead your team ….no visible sign of frustration and getting into her head just straight giggles
Wrote another fan on X, “As a society we don’t talk enough about how Simone Biles is crawling on the ground unable to walk but is about to compete the hardest vault a woman has ever done (it’s only been 10 mins).”
The POWER in Simone Biles’ vault. 💥
📺 #ParisOlympics on NBC and Peacock.
Another fan wrote, “What moment from the Olympics has made you feel the most patriotic so far? My gold: Simone Biles crawling on the ground and then nailing the Yurchenko double pike.”
Simone Biles & Suni Lee Will Face Each Other in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Finals
GettySimone Biles at a practice round before the Paris Olympics.
According to a press release from USA Gymnastics, “with the conclusion of Sunday’s qualifications, the U.S. team and four individuals have moved onto final competition in Paris. Leading the charge are Simone Biles (Spring, Texas) and Suni Lee (St. Paul, Minn.), who are set to become the first two Olympic all-around champions to face one another in women’s artistic gymnastics final competition.”
The press release continues,
The American team qualified in the top spot to Tuesday’s final with a 172.296, more than five points clear of Italy’s 166.861. Completing the team final roster are China, Brazil, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, and Romania.
Biles’ 59.566 leads the all-around qualifiers, with Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade second with a 57.700 and Lee third with a 56.132.
Biles also qualified first on vault and floor, second on beam, and is first reserve on uneven bars. Lee is slated to join Biles in the beam final after qualifying fourth, and she also advanced on bars as the third qualifier. Jade Carey (Phoenix, Ariz.) will aim for a vault medal after advancing to the apparatus final in third, while Jordan Chiles (Vancouver, Wash.) will do the same on floor.
Biles’ coach Cecile Landi told NBC that Biles “felt ‘a little pain in her calf'” while warming up on floor exercise but wasn’t planning to withdraw from any competition.