By Rory Carroll
PARIS (Reuters) – American sporting legends including Serena Williams, Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin turned out witness Simone Biles go for a fifth Olympic gold medal on Tuesday as Biles-mania continued to grip Paris.
The Paris Games marks the return of the most decorated gymnast of all time to the Olympic stage and her debut in qualifying on Sunday saw Tom Cruise, Lady Gaga and dozens of other celebrities pack into the Bercy Arena.
Of all the athletes on hand to see Biles in the team final on Tuesday she was no doubt happiest to see husband and Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, who arrived in Paris earlier in the day.
Wearing a “Biles” t-shirt with multiple photos of his wife on it, Owens let out a roar of approval when Biles hit her Cheng vault in the team’s first rotation, helping the U.S. take an early lead in a competition they were expected to dominate.
Three years ago Biles abruptly withdrew from the Tokyo Games with “twisties”, a condition involving temporary loss of spatial awareness experienced by gymnasts while performing high-difficulty elements.
She went on to open a conversation on mental health and took a two-year break from the sport.
Biles was all smiles and was seen breaking into some dance moves with her teammates as she made her way around the arena before a sold-out crowd that cheered her at every turn.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Paris, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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