THERE were times during Simone Biles’s nascent rise to stardom over a decade ago when she would arrive for practice and Aimee Boorman could sense immediately what kind of day it was going to be.

Sometimes Boorman, who began coaching Biles from the time Biles was seven through to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, would get the world champion. And sometimes Boorman would get a typical teenager who simply was not in the mood.

The key for both of them was realising which days were which so they could adjust accordingly. Boorman understands their relationship might not have been typical at the time. It hardly mattered. It worked.