Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles will quietly return to competing at the US Classic in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, this weekend – two years on from the Tokyo Olympics.

Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist, suffered a sudden onset of the mental block, ‘the twisties,’ early in the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics.

‘The twisties’ forced the sport’s biggest star to pull out of several competitions – including the team and all-around finals – to protect herself.

The 26-year-old pulled out midway through the individual all-around competition, only to return days later to win a medal for the USA in the team event.

She later hinted was in part due to the sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar.

Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles will quietly return to competing at the US Classic

The seven-time Olympic medalist was pictured practicing ahead of the event this weekend

This weekend will mark the first time she competes since suffering with ‘the twisties’ in Tokyo

Biles is one of more than 150 gymnasts who were abused by Nassar, the former national team doctor, during his 30-year career, and in 2019, she revealed that the trauma of the assaults had left her struggling with suicidal thoughts.

At the time, she admitted that she was ‘sleeping all the time’ because it was ‘the closest thing to death’, while revealing that she was undergoing therapy in order to deal with the abuse.

When she withdrew from the individual Olympics event, she retweeted a statement of support from former gymnast-turned-fitness trainer Andrea Orris, which read:

‘We are talking about the same girl who was molested by her team doctor throughout her entire childhood and teenage years.

‘That girl has endured more trauma by the age of 24 than most people will ever go through in a lifetime.’

Although Biles did not issue her own statement about Nassar or her decision to pull out of the all-around, a US official told DailyMail.com at the time that Orris’ message ‘sums up everything Simone is feeling and wants to say’.

The American, who went into her second Olympics in Tokyo having already won four golds in Rio in 2016, returned to win bronze on balance beam while doing a slightly altered routine that removed any twisting elements. It was her seventh Olympic medal.

She called the triumph sweet while also admitting the twisties hadn’t really disappeared. She and coach Cecile Landi had just found a way to work around them.

That won’t be an option on Saturday when Biles competes for the first time since Tokyo in the US Classic in the Chicago suburbs.

As of Thursday, the 26-year-old Biles was scheduled to do all four events, including uneven bars, which she acknowledged on her Instagram stories feed this week has been the most difficult discipline to return to ‘both mentally and physically’ because the routines are essentially 45 seconds of uninterrupted flipping, floating and twisting from bar to bar.

Biles is one of more than 150 gymnasts abused by former coach Larry Nassar over two decades

Biles warms up alongside other gymnasts at the US Classic on Friday morning

She was all smiles as she chatted with other athletes ahead of her return to competition

As of Thursday, Biles was scheduled to do all four events, including uneven bars

Biles could decide at any time what she’s comfortable doing and not doing at this point, though the most decorated female gymnast of all time added: ‘I’m fine. I’m twisting again. No worries. All is good.’

Retirement seemed likely for the decorated gymnast, but Biles never removed herself from the anti-doping pool, leaving the door open to a return with the Paris Olympics on the horizon next year.

The anticipation for Biles’s return to competition has being building ever since she quietly entered the US Classic in June.

The US Classic is traditionally a tune up event for the US national championships in San Jose later this month.

The event itself is particularly special for Biles, given that back in 2019 she landed a sky-high triple-twisting double tuck in a training session for the competition – a move that no woman had previously ever done.

It was first demonstrated by male gymnast Ri Jong-Song of North Korea, who showed it during a routine during the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, according to the United States Olympic Committee.

The impressive move involves doing two flips before entering into three twists, all while remaining in a tucked position.

Biles also used the Classic as her comeback meet in 2018 following a two-year hiatus after her record medals haul in Rio de Janeiro. It took her all of two hours to show she remained the gold standard in her sport, setting the stage for another spectacular run that included two more world all-around championships in 2018 and 2019 and three more national titles.

Biles poses with her bronze medal in Tokyo, after returning for her team event

Biles reacts after her display on the balance beam in Tokyo in 2021 – she hasn’t competed since

The 26-year-old has been sharing regular updates from life with NFL husband Jonathan Owens

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Biles previously executed an incredible flip at the same event

In the clip, the 22-year-old gymnast triple-twisting double tucked during a training session

Biles, who married NFL star Jonathan Owens this spring, has become one of the most vocal advocates for athletes finding space to protect their mental health after her stand in Japan put the issue front and center.

While the conversation around the subject is constantly evolving, Biles’ return to the sport she dominated for nearly a decade suggests an athlete who wants to go out on her own terms.

Sunisa Lee, who won gold in the all-around final in Tokyo, will also be at the U.S. Classic after spending two years competing at Auburn, where she helped spearhead a massive uptick in interest in collegiate gymnastics.

Lee missed the second half of her sophomore year with the Tigers while grappling with health issues but is eyeing a return to the Olympics not to defend her all-around title but to take another shot at gold on uneven bars, her signature event. She placed third on bars in Tokyo, due in no small part to the attention she received after becoming the fifth straight American woman to win the Olympic title.