“Dancing with the Stars” will be well represented in Paris, France for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Both season 24 DWTS contestant Simone Biles and season 30 alum Suni Lee made the women’s gymnastics team for the upcoming competition.
In an interview after the women’s team was announced, Biles said it’s essentially a “redemption tour” for the whole group.
Here’s what you need to know:
Simone Biles & the Team Are Ready for Redemption
In a “Today” interview with Hoda Kotb that aired on July 1, Biles, Lee, and the rest of the team discussed competing in the upcoming Olympic Games. Kotb asked if the ladies felt some deja vu in being on the team and preparing to head to the Olympics.
This will be Biles’ third time competing in the games. Lee, Jade Carey, and Jordan Chiles all competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games, too. The fifth team member, Hazly Rivera, is embarking on her first Olympic experience.
Biles did not complete all of the events in Tokyo, because she experienced a phenomenon gymnasts refer to as the “twisties.” The team won a silver medal, and Lee won the all-around gold.
During the interview with Kotb, Biles agreed it felt like deja vu to be headed back to the Olympics. She added, however, “But also I feel like a little bit of a redemption tour.” Biles explained, “In Tokyo, we all didn’t have our best performances, so we’re excited to go out there and kill it.”
The other ladies on the team concurred with Biles’ perspective.
Biles also praised their strong team. “We have grit, we have power, we have grace. We kind of have everything.”
Chiles noted, “Tokyo was a really tough time for a majority of us, and knowing that this is kind of like redemption, and struggles are struggles, but also roads are roads as well.”
She continued, “Going down that right road just made it seem a lot better, so that emotion was just like, ‘I’m here! I won! This is crazy, wow!’”
Carey agreed with the concept that the team is on a redemption tour. “This means everything to me. I think like they’ve been saying, we all have some sort of redemption we want.”
She added, “It’s just incredible to be able to be sitting here today and truly enjoying the gymnastics that I’m doing and having fun with all these girls.”
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Biles noted they are all more mature heading into the Paris Olympics in comparison to Tokyo. The “Dancing with the Stars” alum also suggested, “I think we all have a little bit more to give.”
She added, “I think our gymnastics is better. I think we’re a little bit more confident in what we’re doing, so we’re excited.”
Not only did Biles have to recover from the twisties, and the criticism from fans, but Lee had challenges to navigate too. As “Today” noted, she had two different kidney diseases to recover from before she could demonstrate she’s got what it takes to head to the Olympics again.
“There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick,” Lee admitted. Luckily, she explained, she received the support she needed to push through.
The Opening Ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris take place on July 26.
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