Colin Sheridan: Simone Biles shows we’ve come a long way since ‘Lay Down Sally’

Simone Biles during a training session at the Ariake Gymnastics Arena ahead of the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Richie Tenenbaum was the youngest child of the dysfunctional Tenenbaum clan in Wes Anderson’s 2001 film, The Royal Tenenbaums. 

He had been a tennis star, the viewer learns through flashbacks, known as “the Baumer”, until he fell apart at the US Nationals. He finishes his match against his opponent, Mr Gandhi, in tears, removing his shoes and serving underarm. The reason? The marriage the day before of his adopted sister, Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), with “That’s 72 unforced errors from Richie Tenenbaum who’s playing the worst tennis of his life”, the commentator tells us.