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.
Biles was asked about her future after the Olympic vault final on Aug. 3. She didn't rule out a return for the Los Angeles Games, but also acknowledged she would be 31 ahead of the competition.
"Never say never," Biles said. "Next Olympics are at home. So you just never know. I am getting really old."
Biles echoed that sentiment in her post-Olympics appearance on NBC's "Today."
"You know, you never say never," Biles said when asked about the 2028 Olympics. "The next Olympics is on home turf. I’m just going to relax and see where life takes me."
This morning, @Simone_Biles speaks to @hodakotb all about her four new medals at the Paris Olympics, giving Rebeca Andrade her flowers, why she wouldn’t be at the level she is today without her parents and adoption and more. ❤️ #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/13i46s1SPM
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 6, 2024
Biles also noted that she doesn't think her performance and experience at the 2024 Olympics will sink in until she finally calls it quits.
"I don’t think I will until one day I decide to retire," she said. "But yesterday once we got back to the village I looked at Jordan [Chiles] and just started bawling my eyes out. And she was like ‘I knew it was gonna happen I just didn’t know when!’”
"I think I was just so full of emotion and I finally released all of that. I was so proud, happy, bittersweet that the journey’s over. It’s so crazy, it happened too quick. My third Olympics!"
BEST U.S. OLYMPIANS
Top 33 rankings | Simone Biles | Katie Ledecky | Jesse Owens
Many will point out that Biles 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. She added four medals to her Olympic resume, including three gold — one in the team competition, one on the vault and one in the all-around. She 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.
Either way, the 2024 all-around gold medalist took to X (formerly Twitter) to plead with media members to stop asking athletes about their futures after winning medals.
"You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics," Biles posted. "Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for."
let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 4, 2024
