Simone Biles could have retired on top — four gold medals in Rio to cap perhaps the most dominant Olympic cycle in history. Her reasoning for returning to the gym after a one-year break was part unfinished business, part why not.
Start with her only misstep in Rio. Biles bobbled on a front tuck in the balance beam final, forcing her to grab the apparatus with both hands to keep from falling off altogether. The mistake cost her a full point. She missed gold by .733 of a point, but still took bronze.
“Besides messing up on beam at the Olympics, the one reason I would want to try and come back is that, years from now, 20 years from now … I never want to think back and say, ‘Wow, I wish I would’ve tried,'” Biles said in a USA Gymnastics video early in 2018, before her return meet that spring.