Simone Biles' Coaches Actually Trained Another Paris Olympian: Their Daughter
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Simone Biles and her teammate Jordan Chiles are coached by Cecile and Laurent Landi.
The Landis' daughter Juliette is also an Olympian—but not in gymnastics.
Simone Biles will compete in five out of six gymnastics finals.
As the coaches of Olympic GOAT Simone Biles, Cecile and Laurent Landi are some of the world's most well-known gymnastics figures. So why were the Landis at the pool last weekend, while Simone warmed up for the competition?
It turns out the athleticism runs in the family: The Landis' daughter, Juliette Landi, was diving in the Olympic women’s synchronized three-meter event, per the Washington Post. The 17-year-old competed for France, making this Olympics a real family affair for the Landis.
“We had to miss practice today with the team,” Cecile said from her daughter’s event on Saturday, per the Post. “The other coaches got it, though. The girls got it. Everyone understood.”
All three of the Landis are obviously quite busy, but they’ve made time to get lunch in the Olympic Village and snap some cute photos together, according to the outlet.
Cecile herself also competed in the Olympics as a gymnast for France in 1996. Both Cecile and Laurent were born in France but moved to the United States, where Juliette was born in Oklahoma.
The whole family then moved to Texas, where the Landis train athletes at a gym owned by Simone’s parents. Fellow Team USA member Jordan Chiles is also based there. (The Landis also coach her.)
Juliette began her athletic career as a gymnast, too, training on the trampoline before moving on to synchronized swimming. During her event on July 27, Juliette and her partner Nais Gillet (also a former gymnast), did backward 1½ somersaults with half-twists, all as Juliette's parents watched from the stands.
It was a rocky start for the duo, who just started working together recently. Ultimately, their dives had lower levels of difficulty than the other teams competing, and they finished last in the event. Even if the judges didn’t reward her, her parents were supportive and happy with her performance.
“As coaches, we can tell she’s very talented,” Cecile said afterwards, per the Post. “As her parents, we’re just happy she found something she loves.”
After the floor final, Cécile told reporters that there was "no pressure on our daughter" to win, since even getting selected at 17 years old was "unexpected."
"Thankfully, she competed the very first day, so then we were done," she said. "I was just [wanted her] to have fun."
The Olympics can be streamed on NBC and Peacock.
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