Simone Biles made a stunning return to Olympic competition on Sunday, battling through left calf pain to launch her multiple-medal bid with an impressive start. The American gymnast, aiming to add to the four gold medals she won at the Rio 2016 Olympics, sustained a calf injury while warming up for her second apparatus, the floor exercise.

Despite this setback, Biles delivered a phenomenal performance on her signature Yurchenko double pike vault, known as the Biles II. Even with a significant step back on the landing, she scored a massive total of 15.800 points, with a 9.4 for execution.

Biles topped the qualifying standings in all-around, vault, and floor exercise. She placed second on beam behind China's Zhou Yaquin and narrowly missed a spot in the uneven bars final. Coach Cecile Landi confirmed there was never any doubt that Biles would continue despite the pain, expressing confidence that she would be ready for the team final on Tuesday and the subsequent individual events.

Biles accumulated 59.566 points in the all-around standings, leading the United States to top the team standings with 172.296 points. Italy, China, and Brazil, powered by Rebeca Andrade's performance, followed. Japan, Canada, Great Britain, and Romania rounded out the team qualifiers.

Biles' return electrified the Bercy Arena, with a star-studded audience including Tom Cruise, Jessica Chastain, Greta Gerwig, Ariana Grande, Anna Wintour, and Snoop Dogg. The crowd cheered as Biles excelled in her balance beam routine and delivered a dynamic floor exercise despite her injury. Her floor routine featured her Biles I double layout with a half twist and her Biles II triple-double (two backflips with three twists).

US team technical lead Chellsie Memmel praised Biles' remarkable performance despite her soreness. By the end of the day, Biles felt better and received another huge ovation after sticking her landing on the uneven bars.

Biles withdrew from multiple events at the Tokyo Games due to the "twisties," a disorientating mental block. However, she still earned a silver and bronze and was celebrated for her openness about mental health struggles. After two years away, Biles has returned stronger than ever. At 27, she could become the oldest women's all-around Olympic champion in 72 years and one of only three women to win more than one Olympic all-around title.

Biles' teammate, Sunisa Lee, who has battled two career-threatening kidney ailments since winning all-around gold in Tokyo, was third in the all-around standings. This sets up an exciting final featuring the last two gold medalists for the first time in Olympic history. Brazil's Andrade was second in all-around, vault, and floor and third on the balance beam.

Algerian uneven bars specialist Kaylia Nemour, 17, topped that apparatus and advanced to the all-around final. Unfortunately, France's hopes for a podium finish were dashed by a series of errors from Melanie de Jesus dos Santos and her teammates. De Jesus dos Santos, who trains with Biles in Texas, was brought to tears by her mistakes, feeling that her years of hard work had come to naught.