Simone Biles wasn't going to let an apparent leg injury stop her from making a triumphant Olympic return.
On day two of the 2024 Paris Olympics July 28, the world's most decorated gymnast advanced past the qualifications round while powering through the pain.
After earning the highest score of 14.733 with her balance beam routine, the 27-year-old began warming up for her floor routine and at one point suffered a rough landing, prompting her to stop to get her left ankle leg taped.
Her coach Cecile Landi told reporters after the competition that the athlete "felt a little pain in her calf," NBC News reported. According to Landi, the apparent injury was also bothering Biles in training earlier this month but had improved until now. She added that the gymnast intends to continue competing in the 2024 Olympics as planned.
And indeed, Biles earned high scores in the other qualifying competitions—15.300 on the vault, 14.433 on the uneven bars and 14.600 with her floor routine, helping Team USA lead with a total score of 172.296.
The U.S. women's gymnastics team, also made up of Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and first-time Olympian Hezly Rivera, is set to return for the team final July 30.
This is Biles' third time competing in the Olympics, following her performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, during which she withdrew from several events, including the team final, citing mental health concerns and a case of the “twisties,” or temporary loss of spatial awareness.
“It’s a trauma response of everything that has happened," Biles said on the Netflix docuseries Simone Biles Rising, reflecting on her performance in the 2021 competition, "just being like, a survivor and all of the other things.”
The athlete, who was one of scores of gymnasts who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of now-incarcerated former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar under the guise of medical treatment, went on to say she didn't want to be afraid of gymnastics anymore.
"I couldn’t have it take that one last thing from me," she said on the program, adding that she wanted an "ending on my own terms.”
(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Read on to see the most emotional moments so far at the 2024 Paris Olympics...
Aug. 10: Sport Climbing
Gold medalist Janja Garnbret of Team Slovenia celebrates with silver medalist Brooke Raboutou of Team USA after they completed the women's Boulder & Lead final.
Aug. 9: Track & Field
First-time Olympian Sha'carri Richardson of Team USA looks on after winning her first Olympic gold medal by placing first in the women's 4x100m relay final.
Aug. 8: Track & Field
Team USA's Tara Davis-Woodhall embraces her husband and Paralympic athlete Hunter Woodhall after winning the women's long jump final.
Aug. 8: Canoe Sprint
Joan Antoni Moreno and Diego Dominguez of Team Spain yell in celebration after the men's canoe double 500m final.
Aug. 7: Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay
Spain's Maria Perez and Alvaro Martin pop champagne to celebrate their gold medals.
Aug. 7: Cycling
Kelland O'Brien of Team Australia is emotional after his team, also including Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn, won gold. The Austalian cyclists set a new world record with 3:40.730.
Aug. 6: Track & Field
TEAM USA's Gabby Thomas snaps a selfie with her partner Spencer McManes after winning gold in the women's 200m final.
Aug. 6: Track & Field
Cole Hocker of Team USA celebrates after winning the gold for the men's 1500m. Hocker won by .14 seconds.
Aug. 5: Pole Vault
Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis celebrates after setting a new world record in the men's pole vault.
Aug. 5: Badminton
An Se-young of Korea celebrates after defeating He Bingjiao of China 2-0 in their match.
Aug. 5: Surfing
Johanne Defay hugs Simon Paillard, her husband and coach, after winning bronze for France.
Aug. 5: Gymnastics
Simone Biles hugs an emotional Jordan Chiles after winning bronze for the women's floor routine final, marking Chiles' first individual Olympic medal.
Aug. 2: Gymnastics
Britain's Bryony Page is ecsatic after winning gold for the women's trampoline final in gymnastics.
Aug. 2: Fencing
Team Czechia's Michal Cupr, Jiri Beran, Jakub Jurka, Martin Rubes celebrate after defeating France for the men's bronze medal.
Aug. 1: Gymnastics
USA gymnast Simone Biles beams after winning gold in the women's all-around final, sporting her "GOAT" necklace.
Aug. 1: Tennis
Great Britain's Andy Murray—who announced his retirement before the Paris Games—tearfully bids farewell to the crowd after being eliminated alongside Dan Evans in the men's doubles.
Aug. 1: Table Tennis
Tomokazu Harimoto of Team Japan lets off some steam during his match against China's Fan Zhendong.
Aug. 1: Swimming
Men's 200m backstroke silver medalist Apostolos Christou of Greece gets emotional while standing on the podium.
Aug. 1: Tennis
Spanish tennis Carlos Alcaraz lets out a victorious scream after defeating Tommy Paul of Team USA in men's single.
July 31: Diving
Great Britain's bronze medalists Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson share a raw moment after the women's synchronized 10m platform diving final.
July 31: Soccer
Korbin Albert gets emotional after scoring a goal in the women's soccer game.
July 31: Swimming
Team Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem celebrates her gold medal in the Women's 100m Freestyle Final.
July 31: Swimming
Team USA's Katie Ledecky reacts to winning gold in the Women's 1500m Freestyle Final.
July 31: Swimming
French swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova cries tears of joy after seeing her silver medal-winning time in women's 1500m freestyle event.
July 31: Judo
Serbia's Nemanja Majdov (L) and Greece's Theodoros Tselidis (R) share a moment after their round in the men's 90kg round of 16 in judo. Tselildis, who beat Majdov, later won the bronze medal.
July 31: Sabre
Manon Apithy-Brunet (L) kisses her husband France's Bolade Apithy after his team beat Egypt.
July 31: Triathalon
Gold medalist Alex Yee of Team Great Britain and silver medalist Hayden Wilde of Team New Zealand share a subtle celebratory moment after crossing the finish line.
July 31: Rugby
Team New Zealand leaps for joy after beating Canada in the Women's Rugby Sevens Gold medal match.
July 31: Field Hockey
Agustina Gorzelany of Team Argentina celebrates her team's first goal in a match against Spain. Argentina ended up winning the match 2-1.
July 31: Shooting
Team Guatemala's Adriana Ruano Oliva gets emotional after realizing she's won the gold medal—her country's very first—in the shooting trap women's final.