PARIS — Simone Biles lives rent-free in the heads of her critics. And she’s considering re-upping her lease.

Minutes after winning gold on vault – that’s her third gold of the Paris Olympics, for those counting, and seventh career gold – Biles left the door open to competing at the Los Angeles Games in 2028. Or, rather, she didn’t close it.

“Never say never. The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know,” she said Saturday night, before starting to laugh. “But I am getting really old.”

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As Biles said after winning her ninth U.S. title in June, however, she’s aging like fine wine.

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Three years ago, after her nightmare experience in Tokyo, Biles wasn’t sure she’d ever compete again, let alone make it back to an Olympics. A case of the “twisties” had caused her to lose her sense of where she was in the air, putting her physical safety at risk, and she didn’t know if she could trust her gymnastics. For someone who “loves to flip,” it was crushing.

The keyboard warriors and right-wing critics didn’t help, calling her weak and a quitter and an embarrassment to her country. That included now-vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, who said then it was one of Biles’ “weakest moments.” Which is pretty rich coming from a guy who was quick to trade his integrity for political gain.

The vicious criticism from Vance and his ilk wasn’t true, of course. But see and hear it enough, and it’s going to leave a mark.

Every chance she gets, however, Biles proves she’s not only a better person than all those trolls, she’s stronger, too. She continues to do the work to address the mental health issues that sent her sideways in Tokyo and, as a result, is more dominant at 27 than she was at 17.

Which is saying something in a sport that used to chew women up and spit them out before their 21st birthday.

Biles won the vault gold behind the strength of her signature Yurchenko double pike, a skill so difficult few men even try it. Though she took a hop back on her landing, it was smaller than it’s been other times she’s done it recently. She followed with what is quite possibly the best Cheng she’s ever done, flying so far in the air she ought to get miles and needing just a small hop to secure the landing.

Biles finished with a combined score of 15.3, 0.334 points ahead of Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, the reigning Olympic and world vault champion. She’s now only the second woman to win the Olympic vault title twice, having also done so in 2016.

Add in the team final gold and all-around final gold that she’s already won, and Biles is up to 10 total Olympic medals. With the balance beam and floor exercise finals still to come Monday, she’s all but certain to pass Allyson Felix, whose 11 Olympic medals are the most by an American woman who’s not a swimmer.

And those swimmers? If Biles does come back for Los Angeles, their records aren’t safe, either.

“I’m really excited to be competing again,” Biles said. “The negative comments, they’re painful after a certain point. They hurt. But I’m still in therapy, working on all that stuff, to just make sure my mental health is well.

“But they’re really quiet now. So that’s strange,” she said, smirking.

It’s human nature to put more stock in criticism than praise. But Biles is aware that, by getting back up and returning to competition, she’s helped millions of people. There are people who adore her for her gymnastics. And understandably so. What she does is both sublime and mind-boggling.

“Not many people in the world can do it to this level, so once we’re out here, the floor is our stage. It just feels so freeing for us. We’re in our element, we’re having fun and doing what we love to do,” Biles said. “I think that’s why I love it so much.”

But every time she steps onto the floor, every time she wins a medal, it’s a reminder to all those people who are struggling that the fight is worth it.

The people watching her might not know how to spell Yurchenko, let alone be able to do one. But they can identify with Biles’ doubts and fears, and the paralysis they can cause. If she has the courage to get back out there, with the entire world watching, then maybe they can, too.

To be thriving isn’t just good for Biles, it’s good for all the people who admire her.

“To recover, what she’s done, it’s amazing,” coach Laurent Landi said. “I frankly didn’t think it was going to be possible, because the trauma was deep and real. It’s great to see her out there enjoying every moment of it and having fun.” 

And if Biles triggers the haters and small-minded people who have nothing going for them besides their petty jealousies and insecurities, all the better.

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