Simone Biles injury update: Will star gymnast compete in the women's team finals?

The Olympics captures the fascination of the world every two years for many reasons. It's a celebration of international sportsmanship and goodwill, and a thrilling showcase for athletes who have worked their entire lives, often in anonymity, for the chance to prove themselves on the biggest stage.

Who among us doesn't enjoy an underdog that saves their best performance for when it matters most, or the chance to cheer on our country in sports we love and others that we just discovered two days ago? The Olympics are a sports fan's dream, but for my money, there's nothing I enjoy more than watching athletes that are historically great prove it when a gold medal is on the line.

Simone Biles is already one of the greatest Olympic athletes in history, but her quest to help Team USA win the women's team final on Tuesday, as well as her own ability to compete in the women's all-around final on Thursday, was cast into doubt when she injured her left calf during qualifying this past weekend, potentially robbing fans of seeing one of the most impressive athletes of this or any generation in what will most likely be her final Olympics.

How did Simone Biles get injured?

Biles appeared to injure herself while warming up for her floor routine on Sunday. She was seen limping afterwards and needed to get her leg taped before competing again. She was then seen walking with a limp throughout the rest of the competition, and even crawled to keep the pressure off her injured leg while warming up for the vault later in the day, though she seemed to be laughing and making light of the situation. Biles' coach, Cecile Landi, said that Biles has been dealing with calf pain for weeks, meaning this is more of a reaggravation and not an entirely new injury.

Despite being in obvious discomfort, Biles performed well enough to help Team USA easily qualify for the women's team final on Tuesday, where they'll be heavy favorites. She also posted the highest individual score in the all-around, an event she won in 2016 but didn't compete in 2021 after coming down with a case of "the twisties," which is basically gymnastics terminology for the yips.

Biles' decision to step away from competing in the Tokyo Olympics was one of the biggest stories of those Games, not only because her withdrawal allowed her teammate Suni Lee to step up and win all-around gold, but because it spurred a larger and much overdue conversation about athletes and mental health.

What is Simone Biles' status for the team finals and the individual all-around final?

Biles fans can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, as it was announced Monday that the seven-time Olympic medalist would be competing in all four disciplines (floor, vault, uneven bars, and balance beam) in the team finals on Tuesday.

With Biles ready to roll, the U.S. is a huge favorite to take home team gold for the first time since 2016, when the dominant squad of Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian won the team final by more than eight points over silver medalist Russia.

Without Biles' individual brilliance leading the way in 2021, the U.S. women had to settle for silver behind Russia. The Russian team is not allowed to compete in Paris due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, though, which is why the U.S. is expected to cruise to victory, barring a total disaster (like losing their top athlete to injury). Biles being healthy enough to compete in all four events gives the U.S. team that much more margin for error in their quest for gold.

Biles' status for the individual all-around will likely come down to how her calf holds up in the team finals on Tuesday. If she can get through her routines without causing further injury, we would expect to see her keep a full schedule, setting up a showdown with her teammate Lee in the first-ever Olympic matchup between all-around gold medalists.

We tune in to the Olympics to see greatness, and there may be no greater athlete at these Games than Simone Biles. Be sure to tune in to the women's team finals on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. ET to see what she and the rest of Team USA can do.