USA Gymnastics' Korepin on Biles' return to competition: 'It is exciting to think about the level of talent and historical legacy'

USA Gymnastics Chief Programs Officer Stefanie Korepin said on Wednesday that “it is exciting to think about the level of talent and historical legacy” of the American contingent slated to compete at the 2023 U.S. Classic later this summer, with the group buoyed by the return of multi-decorated Houston Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, according to a press release.

Biles, along with fellow U.S. gymnasts Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey, headline the competition to be held at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois from Aug. 4-5, per USA Gymnastics.

“Every athlete is at a different place in their season and career, and we will support each of them, wherever they are in their journey,” Korepin said in the release. “It is exciting to think about the level of talent and historical legacy of the field that may compete at U.S. Classic.”

According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the U.S. Classic will mark the first time the 26-year-old Biles competes since the pandemic-affected 2020 Summer Olympics in which she guided the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team to a silver medal as well as secured a bronze medal in the women’s balance beam event.

Following the Tokyo Games, Biles stepped away from gymnastics to focus on her personal life, raising speculation the Olympics were her last hurrah. Per the AP, Biles had experienced the “twisties,” or the loss of spatial awareness while airborne, which apparently took a toll on her mental health. It remains unclear whether Biles will represent the U.S. in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

During her time away from the sport, Houston Daily reported, Biles married then-Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens earlier this year. According to the publication, the couple tied the knot after they announced their engagement in February of last year.

Houston Daily reported that Biles and Owens were more than a year into their relationship when the latter proposed. Biles’ medal count at present includes the silver and the bronze she came back from Japan with, the four golds and bronze she captured at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 and her more than 20 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals, per the publication.