One Extraordinary Photo: Charlie Riedel captures Simone Biles in flight at the Paris Games

By: Charlie Riedel, The Associated Press Posted: 4:27 PM CDT Sunday, Jul. 28, 2024

PARIS (AP) — Charlie Riedel has been an AP staff photographer in Kansas City, Missouri, for 24 years. This is his eighth Olympic games. Here is what Riedel had to say about making this extraordinary photo.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/07/2024 (435 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Why this photo?

Simone Biles has been considered the best gymnast in the world for many years and interest in her has only heightened since she walked away from the Tokyo Games three years ago. Since then, Biles has made a comeback and draws huge crowds. I wanted to show a sense of this excitement for her first Olympic appearance since dropping out at Tokyo, so I decided to go wide and include the vastness of Bercy Arena as well as the crowd of photographers capturing this historic moment.

Simone Biles of the United States competes on the balance beam during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

How I made this photo

I shot this image with a Sony A9iii camera using a 24-70mm lens. Being one of a small group of photographers allowed access to the floor, I was able to shoot this from a unique angle and include the masses of photographers shooting from the perimeter of the field of play.

Why this photo works

I believe this photo works because Simone is a small part of the frame in a huge arena. But even though she is small in the frame, she is towering above all the people who are there to watch her.