Editor’s note: Simone Biles made her third Olympic squad, highlighting the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team for the Paris Games.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Chicago Bears are doing Simone Biles a solid.
Biles said Sunday the Bears are excusing her husband, safety Jonathan Owens, from a few days of training camp so he can go to the Paris Olympics and watch her compete.
“The Bears are actually granting him a couple days off from training camp, so he’ll be there, yes,” she said, grinning. “For just a short little time.”
Biles and Owens have been together since 2020 and were married last year, but this will be the first of her major international competitions he’s been able to attend. Family and friends weren’t allowed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 because of the strict COVID regulations. The 2023 world championships, her first since Tokyo, took place Sept. 30 to Oct. 8, the heart of the NFL’s regular season.
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Owens was able to go to all her meets this summer, because it didn’t conflict with the NFL schedule. But he and Biles were both hoping he’d be able to work something out with the Bears so he could go to Paris.
Biles and the U.S. women have qualifying July 28, with the team final July 30. The women’s all-around final, where Biles will be favored to win gold, is Aug. 1.
The Bears open training camp July 23, three days before the Opening Ceremony in Paris. They play in the Hall of Fame Game, which is Aug. 1 in Canton, Ohio.
“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.”