Simone Biles has been a very visible presence at husband Jonathan Owens’ NFL games. Now it’s his turn to lead the cheering section.
The NFL safety will be at the Paris Olympics for the team and all-around finals, despite the Chicago Bears being in the middle of training camp. Biles said after the Olympic trials that the Bears had given Owens permission to be absent for ‘a couple of days’ so he could go to Paris.
‘He’ll be there, yes,’ she said. ‘For just a short little time.’
Biles and the U.S. women begin competition July 28 with qualifying, and the team final is two days later. The all-around final, where Biles is heavily favored to become just the third woman to win a second Olympic title, is Aug. 1.
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When might Jonathan Owens be in Paris?
The Bears are giving Owens off from July 29 to Aug. 3. That includes their first preseason game: Aug. 1 against the Houston Texans, Owens’ old team. That means he’ll be able to watch her in both the team final, on July 30, and the all-around final, on Aug. 1.
While this is Owens’ first season with the Bears, it’s his seventh in the NFL and many teams rest their veterans for some or all preseason games, anyway.
‘We respect the Olympics. That’s a big deal,’ Bears coach Matt Eberflus said on July 22. ‘He’s supporting the one he loves the most. I think that’s so cool that he gets to do that, we welcome that and it’s going to be awesome.
‘Go USA,’ Eberflus said, drawing laughter.
Owens will miss Biles in the event finals, which are Aug. 3-5. The vault final is Aug. 3, the uneven bars final is Aug. 4 and the balance beam and floor exercise finals are Aug. 5. Biles is the reigning world champion on beam and floor exercise, and won an Olympic gold medal on vault at the Rio Games in 2016.
Has Jonathan Owens seen Simone Biles compete before?
Owens was a fixture at Biles’ competitions this summer, attending the U.S. Classic, U.S. championships and Olympic trials. He was even seen keeping score at nationals, which Biles said he picked up from her parents.
“My Mom and Dad — (meet organizers) never used to display scores from everybody, so they would take notes and scores of every athlete. At the last meet, Jonathan saw my parents doing it and he was like, `Where’d you get that? I need one of those!’ Because whenever he learns about something, he wants to really dive in,” Biles said after the U.S. championships in June.
“He’s kind of a nerd in that respect. In the best way!” she added. “So if he’s gonna learn about gymnastics, he’s gonna learn about it.”
This will be the first time Owens sees Biles compete internationally, however. The couple met in March 2020, and friends and family were not allowed at the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 because of severe COVID protocols. Biles did not compete again internationally until last year’s world championships, which occurred in late September and early October, during the NFL’s regular season.
Does Simone Biles go to Jonathan Owens’ NFL games?
As many as she can.
Biles and Owens met when he was with her hometown Houston Texans, so it was relatively easy for her to at least get to his home games. (She does not typically train on Sundays.) When she was taking time off after Tokyo, she would also go to occasional road games.
It got a little more difficult last season, when Owens was with the Green Bay Packers. With no direct flights, Green Bay is an almost five-hour trip from Houston — and that’s if there are no weather delays!
Still, after she cleaned up at worlds, where she won her sixth all-around title and led the U.S. women to gold, Biles got to as many games as she could. She also traveled to some away games.
‘Anytime we can show up for one another in support, we just get super excited because our schedules don’t align that much,’ Biles said. ‘So whenever it does, it’s really important for the both of us to show up in support.’
Will Simone Biles have other family members cheering her on in Paris?
Yes. Lots of them. Biles’ mother, Nellie, said there will be 16 people in their cheering section in Paris.
Biles’ parents, Ron and Nellie Biles, are famous for never having missed one of their daughter’s meets. (Tokyo doesn’t count. They didn’t have a choice.) They’re usually joined by Biles’ younger sister, Adria, and one or both of her older brothers, Ron Jr. and Adam.
The youngest member of Biles’ cheering section is Ronnie, her adorable, 18-month-old niece. The daughter of Ron Biles Jr. and his wife, Sammi, Ronnie often wears replicas of her aunt’s leotards.