Video shows Simone Biles crawling before diving

A viral video shows gymnast Simone Biles crawling across the floor at the Paris Olympics prior to her vault performance on July 28.

Biles was found crawling on the ground, “in pain,” during the women’s gymnastics competition at the Paris Olympics on July 28, NBC Chicago reported.

“She’s amazing! 💕,” one fan wrote.

Biles was trying to “avoid pressure on her leg because of a calf injury,” NBC Chicago reported. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Biles was seen crawling after her pole vault warm-up. The Los Angeles Times reported that Biles “crawled onto the pole vault track to protect her ankle.”

According to the Times, she completed her vault qualifying round “just minutes later”; according to USA Gymnastics, Biles finished first in the vault qualifying round.

“Simone Biles will always be famous. She suffered an injury at the Olympics and had fun and found joy overcoming it. What an icon 👑” wrote an X page while sharing a video of Biles crawling.

Fans praise Simone Biles for her battle with injuries

GettySimone Biles.

Social media was filled with praise from fans for Biles’ resilience despite her injury.

“Simone Biles CRAWLING down the slide oh my god I don’t know how she can laugh and keep her spirits up after an injury when I would 100% be crying,” one woman wrote.

Another fan wrote on X: “As a society we don’t talk enough about Simone Biles crawling on the ground, unable to walk but about to make the hardest jump a woman has ever made (it only took 10 minutes).”

Another fan wrote: “What moment from the Olympics has made you the most patriotic so far? My gold: Simone Biles crawling on the floor and then doing the Yurchenko double.”

Simone Biles and Suni Lee face off in the women’s artistic gymnastics final

GettySimone Biles during a training session for the Olympic Games in Paris.

According to a press release from USA Gymnastics, “With Sunday’s qualifying results, the U.S. team and four individuals advanced to the finals in Paris, led by Simone Biles (Spring, Texas) and Suni Lee (St. Paul, Minn.), who become the first two Olympic all-around champions to compete in the women’s artistic gymnastics final.”

The press release continued:

The US team finished first in Tuesday’s final with a score of 172.296, five points ahead of Italy’s 166.861. The final list was completed by China, Brazil, Japan, Canada, England and Romania.

Biles was the best in the all-around qualification with 59.566, followed by Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade in second place with 57.700 and Lee in third place with 56.132.

Biles also placed first on vault and floor, second on parallel bars and was first reserve on uneven bars. Lee will join Biles on parallel bars after finishing fourth, and she also advanced to parallel bars as the third qualifier. Jade Carey (Phoenix, Ariz.) will be gunning for a medal on vault after taking third on apparatus, while Jordan Chiles (Vancouver, Wash.) will do the same on floor.

Biles’ coach, Cecile Landi, told NBC that Biles felt “a little soreness in her calf” during floor exercise warmups, but that she had no plans to withdraw from competition.

Jessica McBride is a news, sports and entertainment reporter covering breaking news, politics, sports, entertainment and crime for Heavy. She is a former reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Waukesha Freeman in Wisconsin and a senior lecturer in journalism at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. More about Jessica McBride