"It's not a goodbye, It's a see you later" - Simone Biles posts a heartfelt farewell note for her coach Cecile Landi as she leaves WCC after 7 years

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Aug 25, 2024 04:08 GMT

Cecile Landi, coach of Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles, is leaving the World Champions Centre for her new job as the co-head coach of the University of Georgia. After 7 years of her service at the WCC, Cecile Landi is all set for her new job.

Biles took to Instagram to express her thoughts about it. In a recent Instagram story, the gymnast penned an emotional farewell for her former coach, who played an influential role in her journey as the most decorated female gymnast ever in the history of US gymnastics.

Sharing a photo with her coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi, Simone Biles wrote on her Instagram story,

"end of an era. It's not a goodbye, it's a see you later"

Simone Biles' Instagram Story [ Source : Simone Bile's Instagram]

Cecile Landi had joined World Champions Centre as a coach in 2017, a year after the center was opened to the public. She had served the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy as a coach for ten years, from 2007 to 2017.

Apart from that, the former French gymnast also gave her services to the USA Gymnastics, including the Paris Olympics, where she represented the nation as one of the main coaches of the women's gymnastics team.

As the coach at WCC, Cecile Landi trained gymnasts like Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, alongside gymnasts like Joscelyn Roberson, who won a gold medal at the 2023 World Championships.

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Simone Biles' performance at the Paris Olympics

Simone Biles competing during the Floor Exercise finals at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Paris Olympics was both Cecile Landi's final assignment as the coach of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, as well as an acid test for the Olympic champion, who had created a sensation at the Rio Olympics with her four Olympic gold medals. Biles had won five medals, including four gold medals at the 2023 World Championships held in Antwerp, Belgium.

The Paris Olympics began rather well for Simone Biles and her team. The team of Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera led the USA to yet another gold medal in the team all-around event. With this gold medal, Simone Biles also broke the record of Shannon Miller as the most decorated Olympic gymnast by winning her eighth Olympic medal.

However, Biles wasn't done yet. The American gymnast won another gold medal to become the most decorated American female gymnast of all time by winning the individual all-around event. She further added another gold medal to her collection by winning the individual vault event, while ending her balance beam campaign with a disappointing fifth position.

However, the floor exercise event changed the equations altogether. After Rebeca Andrade missed two chances to stage an upset, she finally won the gold medal in the floor exercise event, with Simone Biles having to settle for the silver.

However, the bronze medal became the biggest controversy when Jordan Chiles, who was initially fifth, had her scores upgraded after an appeal and temporarily awarded the bronze medal over Ana Barbosu of Romania. Following a protest by the Romanian authorities, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, aka CAS, rejected the revised results and restored the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu.