Olympic Legend Nadia Comăneci Lauds Simone Biles As Inspiration For This Generation

Simone Biles is getting all her flowers for an epic outing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris!

The gymnast got one more nod from fellow Olympian Nadia Comăneci, adding to her long list of tributes from fans and well-wishers worldwide as she raised the United States flag high at the competition.

Simone Biles, who has five different skills named after her, is currently competing in her third Olympic Games after a stellar outing in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo in 2021.

The five-time Olympic gold medal champion had only great things to say about Biles, who is already closing in on her record of four Olympic gold medals.

Comăneci  declared back in March, at the Gold Meets Golden event ahead of the ongoing games, that "Everybody is there to watch her (Biles) compete," and when she was asked about the technical record that Biles broke in her category, Comanci stated:

"This is what she's doing now for this generation. She's somewhere so high that everyone is looking at her and saying, 'Yeah, I'm going to try to do that in my own way.'"

Biles is surely living up to her name as she leads the qualifiers for Thursday's individual all-around competition. She won the event in Rio and hopes to replicate it despite an incoming challenge from teammate Sunisa Lee, who holds the all-around champion record from the Tokyo games.

The 27-year-old is heavily predicted to take home the medal despite sustaining a calf injury in the qualifying rounds.

Her perseverance in this game after she pulled out of Tokyo due to injuries is what Comăneci  described as what "makes her a champion." The Olympic legend concluded her statement to PEOPLE by saying:

"She is given this opportunity to understand who you are and to break barriers and inspire the new generation," the Romanian-born gymnast said. "Every generation needs someone to inspire them and she is one of them."

The 62-year-old surely sees some similarities between Biles's journey and hers, even though it ended almost a half-decade ago.

The Romanian-born athlete shone brightly as a competing teenager at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal. With pride, Comăneci declared:

"The first one [1976] is the one I broke barriers at 14 years old, at a time when there weren't too many sports for women. I was the youngest and the first. Now, we talk about equality; women can do any sports guys can. But many years ago they were like, 'Girls can't do that.' And through my gymnastics, I said, 'Yeah they can!"

The star was present at the Opening Ceremony on July 26, alongside other sports icons like Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, and Carl Lewis on the speedboat that brought the Olympic torch to land.

Aside from attending the Olympics to watch 12 days of gymnastics, she also wished to watch track and field and swimming.

The American-born athlete got her leg injury while warming up for her performance, but she toughened up through it to deliver an iconic performance that drew praise from all corners and among celebrities, including Lady Gaga and Tom Cruise.

The legendary gymnast landed on the mat and apparently miscalculated her landing move, which made her walk off the mat with a slight gait and briefly consult with her coaches before leaving the stage,

However, The Blast shared that she gallantly returned to the mat and showcased a display of power and precision, which got her to the top of the board at the end of the night.

Her teammates also share in her victory. The USA women's gymnastics team secured its final spot in the team all-around final on Tuesday, where it is a top pick to win all the gold medals.

Comăneci did not lie about Biles being a source of inspiration to everyone, and that extends to her coach, who displayed little to no fear during her injury scare at the opening games.

"She felt a little something in her calf, just a little pain in her calf," declared the coach, who explained that the athlete had experienced similar discomfort earlier in the month and only resurfaced at the event,

The coach praised her ability to persevere and make painful things seem less complicated. The women's team technical lead, Chellsie Memmel, also echoed the same views and highlighted the importance of Biles remaining healthy throughout the games.

The USA women's gymnastics team has a packed full schedule of electrifying performances.

Per The Blast, the dream team is made up of  Biles, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, Sunisa Lee, and Jade Carey, who are all qualified to compete in the team finals tonight; the full schedule is listed below:

• 12:15 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 30: The women's team final begins
• 12:15 p.m. ET Thursday, August 1: The women's all-around final
• 10:20 a.m. ET Saturday, August 3: The women's vault final
• 9:40 a.m. ET Sunday, August 4 The women's uneven bars final
• 6:36 a.m. ET, Monday, August 5: The women's balance beam final
• 8:20 a.m. ET, Monday, August 5: The women's floor exercise final

Fans can be a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics by streaming live on NBC and Peacock.