There were plenty of questions when Simone Biles returned to the Olympics after her challenging experience at the Tokyo Games.
Would she experience the “twisties” again? Would she medal? Would she win? But for her husband, Jonathan Owens, there was never any doubt that Biles would emerge victorious.
“I knew once she made that decision that she was going to go back,” Owens, 29, tells PEOPLE. “I’m confident in her ability. Obviously, you still have to go out there and do it, but I was confident that she would.”
And “as the world saw, man, she didn’t disappoint.”
Biles indeed exceeded expectations, winning three gold and one silver medal after a week and a half of intense competition. She led Team USA to victory in the team final, securing gold with ease. Despite a rocky start in the all-around final, she remained confident and won her first individual gold of the Games. The G.O.A.T. gymnast went on to win another gold in the vault final and a silver in the floor exercise.
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Owens now says he “understands the difficulty” of Biles’ gymnastics skills, acknowledging that watching her compete is “nerve-wracking.”
“Me and her parents up there, man, we’re nervous wrecks just hoping and praying everything goes right,” he says.
However, Owens shares that he and Biles always find a way to connect during her competitions.
“We always kind of have a moment, and it’s probably a few times during a competition, once she finds us, she’ll look up at me and just kind of make a little face,” he says. “So that always kind of calms us both.”
Everything culminated perfectly—Owens, a safety with the Chicago Bears, was able to take time off from training camp to watch Biles compete in the team and all-around finals in Paris, both of which were gold medal moments.
“It was an unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m just so thankful I was able to go and witness her continue to make history,” he says. “I’m just so proud.”
