USA Today via Reuters
The 2024 season has been nothing but exciting for Simone Biles. After her harrowing experience in the Japanese capital, a lot was at stake this time around. However, the 27-year-old touted her third berth on the Redemption Tour, hoping to reclaim her throne on the Olympic mat. The stands at Bercy Arena witnessed the gymnast go through several ups and downs. Yet she left the French capital with 4 more medals—redeeming herself from the 2020 Tokyo Games.
If you thought the Olympian would close out her gymnastic season upon returning to the States, you would be mistaken. Instead, she revived the Gold Over America Tour in September. Corps d’elite like Brody Malone, Jordan Chiles, Paul Juda, and more joined her on this thrilling adventure. However, after nearly 2 power-packed months, the tour finally reached its epic conclusion on November 3. But if you’ve ever wondered what a day with the G.O.A.T. looks like, then we can answer that for you.
On November 6, Casimir Schmidt appeared in a casual sit-down interview with the RTL Talkshow. Seeing how the gymnasts spent so much time together, there are bound to be some fun tour stories. The Dutch gymnast has known the 27-year-old for quite some time now. Yet there was one incident that left him perplexed. He was asked what his experience traveling with the Olympian was like, and he didn’t hold back. “Yes, that’s really not normal.”
The Gold Over America visited about 32 cities shortly after the Paris Olympics. Kicking off in Oceanside, California, on September 16, it then visited the rest of the states. However, the tour drew the curtains in Michigan. However, throughout their tour stops, the 29-year-old realizes just how overwhelming it possibly gets for the G.O.A.T. “She can’t cross the street. That just doesn’t work. It also doesn’t really work that she’s so small. She can’t put on a hood and sunglasses. Only because it immediately shows who it is,” he confessed.
Casimir Schmidt reiterated how people could be brutal, but a disguise occasionally works. The gymnast even shared an example from one of their time together. “We had breakfast. I was with her and another turnster and her security. The four of us went for breakfast.” A family noticed them and even offered to pay for them, mostly for Simone Biles. “It was well received. But that kind of weird thing. Everyone wants a picture.”
When he was asked how the Olympian deals with it, he reiterated that while she usually doesn’t take pictures. Even though there are too many people, she’s usually very friendly. The 27-year-old usually responds with, “So, I’m not taking pictures today. But it’s so nice to meet you.” Yet, the 29-year-old clarified that he’s never had any issues with it. However, now that the tour has ended, how does the Olympian feel about it?
The 7x Olympic gold medalist gave the tour an emotional send-off
The second edition of GOAT traveled over 32 cities for nearly two months. But 3 days after the ‘pop concert-style’ show ended, the gymnast couldn’t get over the emotions. Simone Biles and Co. didn’t want to move on from the excitement and adrenaline either. In fact, the official GOAT Instagram handle shared a reel of some of the special moments from the tour.
“Not over it but not sure we ever will be. Stay GOLDEN and thank you for an unforgettable journey these two months.” However, the 11x Olympic medalist got emotional right before the final day of the tour in Detroit. She shared an update on Instagram, captioned, “Last show day… bittersweet.”
So, when Simone Biles watched the highlight reel on Instagram, it reminded her of all the memories made during their 30+ tour stops in the past two months. She shared another story on Instagram, stating how her heart has never been fuller. In fact, she even shared a few images of her in literal tears before addressing the reel.
To celebrate their time together, the Olympian shared several stories with Joscelyn Roberson and Jordan Chiles. Even though they started out with them flashing their pearly whites, the 27-year-old struggled to back her tears by the third story. The 7x Olympic gold medalist admitted she couldn’t stop crying on Threads later in the day. It’s safe to say that this experience was incredibly fun yet emotional for everyone involved. But it was also eye-opening for Casimir Schmidt.