Simone Biles' coach Cecile Landi receives a grand welcome at the SEC game between Georgia Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Oct 06, 2024 03:39 GMT

Simone Biles' former coach Cecile Landi recently attended the SEC football fixture between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers. The former gymnast of French origin has recently joined the University of Georgia as their gymnastics' co-head coach.

Cecile Landi has been an important part of the US gymnastics as a coach. She has coached the US women's gymnastics team at the Tokyo Olympics, as well as the Paris Olympics. After serving seven years as the head coach at the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas, she decided to sign up as the head coach of the University of Georgia.

The Frenchwoman received a warm welcome from the crowd at the Sanford Stadium, where the SEC fixture between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers, which the former won 31-13. In one of them, she uploaded a selfie with former English gymnast Marissa King, who is also one of the gymnastics coaches at the University of Georgia.

In another story she focused on the stadium screen, which showed Landi receiving a huge cheer from the crowd when her name came up on the big screen.

Screengrab of Cecile Landi's visit to the SEC game between Georgia Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers [Image Source: Cecile Landi's Instagram]

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Cecile Landi on moving to the University of Georgia as head coach

Cecile Landi [in violet T shirt] bidding goodbye to the gymnasts at the World Champions Centre [Image Source : Getty]

From representing France at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, to coaching the US women's gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics, Cecile Landi has come a really long way.

In April 2024, it was announced that Landi would be joining the University of Georgia as the co-head coach alongside Ryan Roberts. However, the 45-year-old gymnast turned coach maintained that she wouldn't join her duties before the Paris Olympics.

After the Paris Olympics, Landi bid goodbye to the World Champions Centre, where she had been working for the last seven years. It was under her guidance that Simone Biles bounced back from her average performance at the Tokyo Olympics to nail it at the Paris Olympics.

"Congratulations, Cecile. I can't think of a more deserving person. Can't wait to see what the future holds for UGA Gymnastics!Y'all are in GREAT hands!", wrote Biles on her Instagram story [via Olympics.com]

Landi also revealed that it would take a while before she restores the lost glory of the University of Georgia in the arena of gymnastics. In her interview to Athens-Banner Herald, she mentioned,

"You’ve got to find the right people, the right athletes and everyone ready to commit to the goal and just be patient. That’s what we asked the administration,” Landi said. I have a five-year contract because I told them we don’t’ do magic. It’ s going to take some time.”

Cecile Landi had represented France on the international stage from 1996 until her early retirement in 1999. She relocated to the USA with her boyfriend [and later husband Laurent Landi] in the early 2000s. After giving her services to the Bart Conner Gymnastics, and the World Olympics Gymnastics Center, Landi joined the World Champions Center in 2017. She served as the head coach until 2024.