"Simone Biles will definitely medal" - Usain Bolt backs the American gymnast to top the podiums at Paris Olympics 2024

Legendary track athlete Usain Bolt has backed Simone Biles to finish at the top of the podium at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Heading into her third Olympic Games, Biles is the oldest member of the USA women's gymnastics team for Paris which also includes the likes of Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera.

The 27-year-old will be aiming for redemption at the Paris Olympics after opting out of several gymnastics events such as the women's team, individual all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise due to experiencing twisties at the Tokyo Olympics.

Biles, however, collected the silver medal in the women’s team since she featured in the vault during the team finals, and came back to win a bronze medal in the balance beam.

Ahead of the Paris Olympics, Bolt, who is regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time, was present during the training session of the World XI for the Soccer Aid 2024 game. The Olympics team asked the retired Jamaican athlete for his prediction on Simone Biles' campaign at the Games during the aforementioned training session. Bolt responded to this, stating:

“She won the other day. So, I think she is on her way back to be like top. So, I think she will definitely medal for sure.”

Since the Soccer Aid game took place on June 9, just a few days after the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships which took place from May 30 to June 2, Bolt’s reference to ‘the other day’ likely refers to the gymnast winning the all-around title at the championships held at Dickies Arena.

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Simone Biles and Usain Bolt included in ESPN’s top 10 athletes of the 21st century

Simone Biles at the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in 2019 (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Both Simone Biles and Usain Bolt were ranked among ESPN’s top 10 greatest athletes of the 21st century. ESPN.com recently released its top 100 athletes where the ranking of the sportspersons was determined by votes from a panel of experts and other members of the organization.

Biles and Bolt were ranked seventh and ninth respectively on ESPN's list. Biles stands as the most successful gymnast in the history of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, with 23 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze medals. On the other hand, Bolt holds the world records in the men’s 100m, 200m, and 4x100m events, and also had a successful Olympic career, bagging eight gold medals.