Simone Biles crawled at one point on Sunday at the Paris Olympics. She hopped on one leg. She even landed on her knees in a vault warmup.

She did anything to take the weight off a lower left leg injury that she appeared to sustain at the end of a tumbling sequence during floor exercise practice. She had her ankle area taped and the mood turned somber.

This became the story:

It didn’t look good for the gymnastics star, returning to the Olympics after a 2021 Games in which she experienced mental health issues and a battle with disorientation in the air.

But when it came time to compete in the qualifying, the 2016 all-around gold medalist shined.

She finished first in all-around in her qualifying group with 59.566 points, 3.434 ahead of Suni Lee, the defending Olympic all-around champion who was second. U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles came in third. As of this writing, Biles and Lee are assured of a spot in the all-around final, pitting two Olympic champs against each other for the first time, The Athletic reported.

Biles, considered perhaps the greatest gymnast of all times, showed her heart and grit to get there.

U.S. gymnastics coach Cecile Landi did not specifically describe Biles’ leg issue but she did turn up the praise.

“I can’t express it,” Landi said, per Associated Press. “I’m really proud of her and what she’s been through and what she’s showing the world what she’s capable of doing.”