After Cecile Landi, it is time for Laurent Landi to bid adieu to the World Champions Center. The WCC’s recent Instagram story captured Laurent’s emotional goodbye to his students, the image tinged with the bittersweet scent of finality. The story was captioned, “FAREWELL TO LAURENT!!!” Just after the conclusion of the Paris Olympics, Cecile Landi left the facility to take up a new role as the co-head coach of the University of Georgia. Now, with the new year approaching, Laurent Landi too, has packed his bags. A former member of the French national team, Landi decided to pursue his career in coaching in 1999.
Initially, he landed as a coach in his club in Antibes. After gaining significant experience in 2002, he got his big break when he worked with the French Gymnastics National team in Marseille. After moving to Oklahoma in 2004 with Cecile, he took up a job at the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy. It was from here that Landi started working with the big names.
Laurent Landi and Simone Biles flourish under each other’s influence
Working at the WOGA, Landi took icons like Alyssa Baumann, Briley Casanova, Madison Kocian, and more under his wings. While these names were already established in the gymnastics realm, it was not until he joined the WCC that he got to show his expertise as a world-class coach. And one of his biggest achievements in the WCC will always be Simone Biles. When Landi first met Biles, she was a budding star. However, more fine-tuning was required to craft a legend out of her.
And without a hint of doubt, Landi succeeded in doing so with flying colors. Trying to break the stereotypes, Landi moved out of France to contribute to the sport in more meaningful ways. However, after watching Biles initially, he knew what he had to do. Speaking about training the legendary gymnast, Landi stated that he had to take a completely different approach. While Biles never fit into the stereotypical boxes of a gymnast, Landi never asked her to follow traditional methods.
Instead, he devised an entirely different routine for Biles and let her natural instincts do the needful. Speaking about his approach towards training Biles, Landi stated, “We’re not always right. If you do your own way all the time, you will hurt the majority of the athletes. Maybe one will survive and will be an amazing person, amazing athlete but the (other) 90%, they will be broken. … We had to adjust to Simone, otherwise we would have broke her.” Well, now that Landi will be leaving the WCC, this might put Simone Biles’ career in some serious jeopardy.
While there have been a lot of rumors regarding Biles retiring after the Paris Olympics, nothing conclusive has been said by the legend. In fact, she also left open the possibility of her coming back to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Thus, without her mentor, her practice sessions will surely take a hit from now on. However, it is not clear whether Biles will be following Laurent Landi for training or if she will be hiring a new coach in the future. Even with the difficult goodbye, marked by bittersweet smiles and the exchange of heartfelt words, Biles will always remain close to the Landi.
Simone Biles regards the Landi as her family
Simone Biles had to face a lot of trolling and trauma en route to becoming a legend. Bullied for her height and color, Biles was told that she could never make it big in gymnastics. Thankfully, after being guided ably by Aimee Boorman, the gymnastics GOAT found Laurent and Cecile Landi. Not only did they transform Biles into a world-class athlete, but they also formed an inseparable bond that lasts even today. Speaking about their relationship, Biles mentioned that she regarded the ratio as more of a partnership.
“They’ve been big mentors in like my adulthood (because) they got to see and harness the more mature Simone. They’ve helped me a lot not just in the gym but out of the gym, too,” an overwhelmed Biles stated. She reflected on the sacrifices Laurent made just to make her train. Biles mentioned that as she got married and got involved with a host of other things, it was Laurent who made the adjustments to accommodate training the legend.
The 27-year-old stated that whenever she talked about missing practice, Laurent would initially panic and ‘freak out’. However, after calming down and taking a glance at the calendar, the Frenchman would start making alternate plans to accommodate Biles and help her reach her goals. Thus, with such a heartfelt ratio between the duo, it remains to be seen what future updates come from the iconic pair.
