Simone Biles and Suni Lee Share Why 2024 Paris Olympics Are a Redemption Tour

Simone Biles is ready to flip the script on her Olympics story. 

Teaming up with fellow 2020 Tokyo Games vets Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee—plus newbie Hezly Rivera and alternates Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong—is a bit of "deja vu," the seven-time medalist admitted to Today's Hoda Kotb, mere moments after the 2024 Paris Olympics squad was announced June 30, "but also I feel like a little bit of a redemption tour. In Tokyo, we all didn’t have our best performances, so we’re excited to go out there and kill it.”

For Biles, it was a debilitating case of the "twisties" that caused her to pull out of several events in Japan three years ago. 

“We won silver," the 27-year-old acknowledged to Kotb. "We will say that, but there were definitely some things that we had to overcome during that meet, and I think we all have a little bit more to give."

And with three more years of tumbling, vaulting and sticking the landing under their leotards, “I know we’re more mature," Biles continued. "I think our gymnastics is better. I think we’re a little bit more confident in what we’re doing, so we’re excited.”

UCLA student Chiles also left Japan—and the crowd-free COVID-era Games—feeling as if she had more to prove. 

“Tokyo was a really tough time for a majority of us," the 23-year-old acknowledged, "and knowing that this is kind of like redemption, and struggles are struggles, but also roads are roads as well, and going down that right road just made it seem a lot better, so that emotion was just like, ‘I’m here! I won! This is crazy, wow!’”

And though Carey scored herself a gold medal in the women's individual floor exercise final to keep her team silver company, earning a return trip to the Olympics "means everything to me," said the Oregon State gymnast, 24. "I think like they’ve been saying, we all have some sort of redemption that we want, so it’s just incredible to be able to be sitting here today and truly enjoying the gymnastics that I’m doing and having fun with all these girls. And I’m excited for Paris.”

As for Toyko all-around victor Lee, 21, there were times she assumed she wouldn't be able to defend her title. 

Having suffered a series of kidney diseases, the second chance “feels absolutely insane,” said the Auburn University student. “It was just such a hard, incredible journey. There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick and it was just so hard to, like, stay motivated, watching everybody get better, and I can’t even get back into the gym, and constantly self-doubting myself. But once I had those people around me who lifted me up and supported me, I knew that this is something that I wanted.”

Unable to even stand, much less take a spin around her beloved uneven bars, "It was really scary and really, really heartbreaking," Lee detailed to E! News in December. "I definitely went through a little bit of a mental spiral because gymnastics is my outlet and it's my safe space."

At her lowest, "I really didn't know what to do with myself because I couldn't practice at all," she continued. "I really just had to sit in my bed and be sad because I couldn't do anything. I could barely move. I couldn't fit into my clothes and it was just so scary."

Making her return at the U.S. Classic in May, "I learned that nothing's going to stop me," Lee said. "If I want something, I'm going to put my head into it and I'm going to get it. I kept telling myself that I wasn't going to be able to do it and I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it again, because I did lose so much faith in myself."

And while she's definitely hoping to add to her hardware haul, "I'm at the point where I'm like, 'I just want to make it there,'" Lee shared. "If I can make it there with everything going on, that's going to be as special as winning a gold medal."

Before the team takes to the mat in France, relive their epic journey at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

On Aug. 7, the 22-year-old Israeli athlete won the gold medal at the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final and became the first Israeli women to win Olympic gold. She beat Russian identical twin sisters Dina Averina, who placed second and her sister, Arina, who placed fourth, and her victory marked the first time that a nation that is not a former Soviet country has won gold in the category, with the exception of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, which the Soviet Union boycotted.

On Aug. 3, the 28-year-old United States athlete became the first Black woman in Olympics wrestling history to ever win gold when she defeated Nigeria's Blessing Oborududu in the women's 68-kilogram freestyle wrestling final. 

A true swimming star! The United States Olympian became the first woman swimmer to earn six individual gold medals over her career. "Thank you, Tokyo, and thank YOU ALL for the tremendous support this week and over the years to get to this point," Katie wrote on Instagram. "2 Golds, 2 Silvers, and countless memories coming back to the States!!!" 

The Olympic gymnast was the first Hmong-American to compete for Team USA. During her time in Tokyo, Suni took home several medals including the gold for women's all-around gymnastics. 

The Canadian soccer star became the first openly transgender athlete to ever win an Olympic medal following their team's stunning defeat of Sweden in the women's final on Aug. 6. "I'm so proud of my team. They're my best friends," Quinn told reporters after beating the United States in the semifinals. "I'm so glad we're bringing back a better medal than bronze." 

For the first time in Olympic history, an athlete from the Philippines took home a gold medal after 30-year-old weightlifter Hidilyn received the top prize in women's 55kg weightlifting. 

The United States skateboarder is the first openly nonbinary athlete to compete in the Olympic Games. While Alana didn't walk away with a medal, they expressed gratitude about the experience. "My goal coming into this was to be happy and be a visual representation for humans like me," Alana wrote on Instagram. "For the first time in my entire life, I'm proud of the person I've worked to become. I chose my happiness over medaling. Out of everything I've done, I wanted to walk out of this knowing I UNAPOLOGETICALLY was myself and was genuinely smiling. The feeling in my heart says I did that."

On Aug. 2, the New Zealand weightlifter made history as the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics. Although the 43-year-old athlete finished the +87 kg competition early after not being able to register a snatch, her presence at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics comes 18 years after the International Olympic Committee created a policy to allow transgender competitors.

The Honolulu resident became the first woman ever to win a gold medal in surfing at the Olympics, a sport that debuted in 2021. "I feel super blessed, super fortunate," Carissa said after her win, per Olympics.com. "It's been an incredible experience."

The University of Southern California alum won the bronze in the women's 400-meter dash on Aug. 6, making her the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history with a total of 10 medals. The record was previously held by Merlene Ottey.