Simone Biles inspires millions of girls. Now one is going to worlds with her

ANTWERP, Belgium − Joscelyn Roberson was driving with her father not long ago and, like most teenagers, was on her phone. When her father asked who she was messaging with, Roberson casually replied, “Simone.”

That’s Simone as in Simone Biles, arguably the greatest gymnast ever. A four-time Olympic champion who is likely to become the most decorated gymnast of all time, male or female, during the world championships this week. One of the most popular and impactful athletes in the United States these days.

“That one blew me away,” Roberson’s father, Jeffrey Roberson, told USA TODAY Sports. “I was like, `What! Y’all talk like that?’ And she said, `Yeah.’”

It’s even more wild when you know the backstory.

When Roberson was 9, her coach posted a video of her doing a standing back flip with a twist. The video went viral and caught the eye of Biles, who shared it on social media with the comment, “im in awe.{perfect} some1 help me find this cutie. I wanna meet her, so she could teach me a thing or two #goals”

Fast-forward eight years, and the 17-year-old Roberson not only trains alongside Biles at the World Champions Centre outside Houston, the two are teammates on the U.S. squad for the world gymnastics championships. Roberson’s first worlds just so happen to be in Antwerp, Belgium, the same city where Biles competed at her first world championships, too.

The gymnastics world is small, but it’s not that small.

"We were walking out and I was like, `Ohhhh my God, I'm here.' That's when it really sunk in," Roberson said Sunday night after the U.S. women posted the highest score in qualifying, 171.395. The team final is Wednesday, and the Americans are heavily favored to win what would be a record seventh consecutive title.

A year ago, none of this seemed possible.

Roberson had a successful junior career, finishing fourth in the all-around at the 2021 U.S. championships. But she struggled when she moved up to the senior level and felt as if her career was stalling. She was the only elite-level gymnast at her gym, and no matter how hard she worked, she didn’t feel as if she was seeing the results — on the floor or in her national team assignments. She'd committed to Arkansas, but college was still two years away.

When her mother, Ashley, a pharmaceutical chemist, decided to move to Texas for a better job, she and Jeff gave Roberson a choice: She could stay in Texarkana with her father and two older siblings, but it would probably mean the end of her elite career because it had mostly been Ashley getting her to and from practice.

Or Roberson could go to Texas with her mom and find a new gym.

Roberson chose to move. A month after nationals last year, she was at WCC.

“I was so nervous because I had been at my gym for 10 years at that point,” Roberson said. “It was a hard change for me because I was so close with everyone there. I had grown up with them. But this team has really taken me in and I'm so thankful for it. They really are a really close-knit team and I'm so happy that I got to be part of it. And this last year, really, I couldn't have asked for a better year.”

Laurent and Cecile Landi, the elite coaches at WCC, are among the best technical coaches in the world. In addition to coaching Biles and Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles, they coached Rio Games gold medalist Madison Kocian.

But it’s the environment the Landis have created at the gym that’s made all the difference for Roberson.

Before she moved, Roberson said she was petrified of doing certain skills. Like the double-double, a double-twisting, double somersault. Just hearing the term was enough to unnerve her. About two weeks after she got to WCC, however, Laurent Landi suggested she try it.

It’s now a staple in her floor exercise routine.

“She was having such a good time and coming home every day smiling and in a great mood, wanting to talk about her day. Before it was like pulling teeth to get anything out of her … because she just wasn't in a good place with her gymnastics before we moved,” Ashley Roberson said. “Probably about a month in, I remember telling Jeff how much she has re-found her love for the sport is incredible. Her demeanor, it just all changed.”

The Landis’ belief in Roberson has bolstered her confidence. She no longer worries about skills or what the future holds, trusting that the Landis have a plan and it will work out. It’s also helped to have other elite-level teammates, people Roberson can turn to when she has questions or doubts or is just having a rough day.

That includes Biles.

“It would be like getting to follow Michael Jordan around and see how he does things and how he deals with all the stuff that goes on,” Jeff Roberson said.

Just as her parents saw what a difference the move had made, the effect was obvious in Roberson's results, too.

Roberson won 10 medals at three international assignments in the spring, including golds with the U.S. team at the Pan American Championships and another competition in Germany and four more on individual events. After she won the vault title at both the national championships and the U.S. Classic, and finished second on floor at Classic, a spot on the worlds team looked within reach.

The U.S. women are deep on uneven bars and balance beam. But with the three-up, three-count scoring format in team finals at worlds, they need another big score besides Biles’ on vault and floor exercise and Roberson can deliver them. At last week’s selection camp, she finished second on vault and tied for second on floor, clinching her spot on the world team.

“I was going to be happy and grateful for whatever happened. But you always hope for the best,” Roberson said of the 90-minute wait before the team was announced. “I was so nervous, my hands were sweating. I was holding Jordan and Simone’s hands and they were like, `Josc, your hands are so sweaty!’”

“It was finally announced and I got so happy. I gave Simone the biggest hug when I walked up there,” Roberson said. “It’s a moment I’ll cherish forever.”

Roberson had the Americans' second-highest score on vault and third-best on floor exercise. She has a chance to make the vault final — she was fourth at the end of Sunday's qualifying sessions — but will miss the floor final because countries are limited to two gymnasts per event and Biles and Jones have higher scores.

"I feel like it went as good as it could have," Roberson said. "I got way more nervous than I thought I was going to. I felt like I was going to throw up. My coaches, I'm sure they could tell and Simone, I know could tell."

Biles enthusiastically clapped along to the music during Roberson's floor routine, and congratulated the teenager as she came off the podium.

Biles has inspired millions of little girls throughout her career. Now one of them is right beside her at the world championships.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.