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Rivals Simone Biles and Shilese Jones Pose Together For Gold Over America Promo

Published 04/23/2024, 7:55 AM EDT

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The Gold Over America Tour, Simone Biles’ brainchild will be making a return after three years. Biles along with Shilese Jones, Fred Richard, and Mélanie Johanna De Jesus Dos Santos, will visit 30 cities across the U.S. to deliver a “high-octane, action-packed experience.” Ahead of the tour, which will commence in September, Biles and Jones, who share a healthy rivalry can be seen posing together in the poster of the event.

In an Instagram post by the official Gold Over America Tour account on April 23, Biles can be seen appearing for a promo shoot for the upcoming September event. “Happy Monday! It’s time to embrace all the moments this week can bring, how are you motivating and making the most of it?!“, reads the caption of the post. Biles can be seen surrounded by the likes of her best friend Jordan Chiles and said-rival Shilese Jones and french gymnast Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos also can be standing close to Biles.

The stage is set for the intriguing dynamic between Biles and Jones which began at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. Jones nearly pulled off a major upset at the competition but had to settle for bronze, while Biles clinched her sixth global title. The two have a respectful rivalry and Jones even mentioned how Biles is an inspiration to the rest of the team.

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In an interview, with Spot Gym two months ago, Jones said, “She’s an amazing sport…she’s had so many accomplishments the World Championships being one of them.

She added how Biles’ presence is crucial for the team, “She is one of the oldest athletes and we all feel like strive and you know push each other at the same time and like I said having her to look up to and having her on the mat is just amazing honestly and knowing that you know we can count on her is just awesome.”

Following its successful inaugural run, the 2024 Gold Over America Tour edition aims to reach even greater heights, treating fans to an unparalleled display of gymnastics brilliance. Presented by Athleta, the tour will hit Oceanside on September 17, 2024, at the Frontwave Arena. The tour will have stops in major American cities including LA (20 September), Chicago (29 September), and Brooklyn (5 October).

In late 2019, Biles announced her plans to launch an all-woman tour that would be a mixture of sports and entertainment intended to inspire the next generation of female athletes. Two years later she was joined by the likes of Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Katelyn Ohashi as they did 34 shows in 32 cities selling 182,000 tickets and grossing $19.3 million.

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As Biles attempts to make Gold Over America a success one more time, she continues to prioritize her mental health more than ever and looks forward to the Paris Olympics 2024.

Simone Biles looks to put Tokyo nightmare behind her ahead of Paris Olympics

After withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics during the event, Biles took a two-year break from gymnastics. During this time she became the youngest person ever to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the age of 25 and got married to NFL player Jonathan Owens. She then made a strong return to sport winning the gold at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

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Biles is now preparing to make a splash at the Paris Olympics. However, the gymnast said she is taking a more cautious approach this time around, being very intentional in preparing both mentally and physically with her team. In a conversation on the Call Me Daddy podcast, Biles said, “If all goes well,” she will be in Paris. She explained how she is taking a different approach than last time. “I think just working on my mind and my body more than I have or continuing to work on my body and my mind, just like I have the past year and a half and it’s worked. So to just stay on top of that. It’s exhausting, but I have to do it. It’s working.”

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Now, as Biles eyes a spot in the national team at the Olympic Team Trials, it waits to be seen if the prospect of being part of the pan-American tour injects an extra boost to her motivations.

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Written by:

Diptarko Paul

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Diptarko Paul is a senior Olympic Sports Correspondent at EssentiallySports. This state-level swimmer decided to dive deep into the world of Olympics. From writing various aspects of swimming to diving deep in the world of NCAA division 1 Volleyball, Diptarko covers it all.
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Edited by:

Himanshu Sridhar