Simone Biles plans post-Olympic tour with stop in Houston

Even though Simone Biles hasn’t officially made the U.S. gymnastics team for Paris — and let’s face it, she will — she’s already planning a post-Olympic tour.

The Gold Over America tour, which includes a stop at the Toyota Center on Oct. 19, will also feature male gymnasts.

“I think the first time we were very motivated by a female cast and the beauty of that and knowing that we can do a show without the guys and just have the girls in their girl power and be beautiful and be the stars. ” Biles said in an interview with the Associated Press before the tour announcement Thursday. “But this time we’re like, ‘OK, it worked but let’s do it a little differently, let’s invite the men.'”

The full men’s field has not been announced but will include Fred Richard, 20, who became the first American to win an all-around medal at the world championships since 2010, when he won bronze in Belgium last fall last.

“I think it gets really intimate when you get on Fred’s platform, just because the way he talks to you, the kinds of things he posts is really interesting,” Biles told the AP. “I think it will bring a whole new dimension.” take.”

The rest of the men’s group will only be determined after preparation for the Paris Olympics.

“(Men) also bring a little, in the best way, sex appeal,” Biles said. “I think it’s very interesting and it also brings a different type of audience. It’s like they can pull off some really cool tricks with little to no effort and no training and so I think it’s going to be a great show.

Biles described the show as a “celebration” of gymnastics, albeit one with decidedly personal elements.

She used the 2021 tour to help promote the importance of prioritizing mental health, a sometimes taboo topic that Biles brought into the open when she withdrew from several competitions at the Tokyo Games while struggling against “the twisties”.

“Obviously we want to bring fun, we want to bring an exhilarating feeling, we want to bring out the golden side of everyone, but those touchy topics or whatever we want to bring up, those will come whenever people have the opportunity to tell their stories at the Olympic Games,” she said.

The tour kicks off in Oceanside, California on September 17 and concludes in Detroit on November 3.