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| Simone Biles shakes off calf injury to dominate during Olympic gymnastics qualifying | | |  Agencies
PARIS, July 28: The similarities were striking. Maybe fitting in the birth place of déjà vu.
Simone Biles sitting off to the side at the Olympics. USA gymnastics team doctor Marcia Faustin by her side. A look of concern on both their faces.
Three years ago in Tokyo, the scene ended with Biles removing herself from multiple finals to protect her safety - prompting an international discussion about mental health.
Yet Biles is determined to write a different ending to the story in Paris. The 27-year-old American star wasn't dealing with any sort of block or trauma but something far more common to gymnasts, particularly ones who have been doing this two decades.
Just like in Tokyo, Biles and Faustin briefly disappeared. Unlike Tokyo, Biles returned not in a sweatsuit but with her left leg heavily taped after tweaking her calf during her warm-up on floor exercise. She spent the rest of the afternoon walking around with a noticeable limp everywhere except the competition floor.
The woman who has been saying over and over and over this isn't 2021 went out and proved it on Sunday inside star-studded Bercy Arena, shaking off what U.S. coach Cecile Landi described as a minor calf issue to post the top score in the all-around and put whatever lingering ghosts there may be from Tokyo in the rearview mirror. Biles finished at 59.566, well clear of reigning Olympic champion and teammate Sunisa Lee, saluting the crowd after her dismount on uneven bars, her final event. She hopped off the podium, danced with good friend Jordan Chiles and has no plans to stop her quest for gold in Tuesday's team final and Thursday's individual all-around.
"It was pretty amazing, 59.5," Landi said. "Not perfect so she can improve even (but) ... just really good."
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