Simone Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens describes moment he came face-to-face with robber at Winter OIympics

Jonathan Owens, the Chicago Bears safety and husband of Simone Biles, described the moment he came face-to-face with a robber while shopping in Milan during the Winter Olympics.

American superstar Biles, the most successful gymnast in Olympic history, has been attending events in Italy alongside her husband, including Friday’s men’s figure skating final.

Owens, 30, posted on X on Sunday that someone had tried to steal his shopping bag while he was out in the Italian city, but said he had managed to hold on to his belongings before the thief ran away.

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“Not somebody just tried to snatch my shopping bag in Milan,” he said, “force of habit I had it tied around my hand so he couldn’t get it and took off running immediately….but still crazy”.

In further posts, Owens said he had been “prepared” for the possibility of being targeted by pickpockets or thieves while he was out as he had “seen too many TikToks of that happening”.

In his comments, fans asked whether the NFL star had considered chasing down the robber, with Owens confirming the man was “not fast at all”.

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“Honestly bro it was hilarious how slow he started running away once he saw he couldn’t grab it out of my hand,” Owens said. “Should’ve seen his face once he realised.”

At the games, Biles was among those in attendance watching Mikaela Shiffrin’s disastrous men’s free skate on Friday. Her groans as he fell not once but twice were audible.

Malinin, who reached drinking age in the U.S. all of two months ago, thought he had a handle on the attention he commanded.

“I think all of this pressure, all of the media and just, you know, being the Olympic gold hopeful was just a lot,” he said. “Too much to handle.”

Sitting a few rows up inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena, Biles — who knows a thing or two about being singed by critics unable or unwilling to see things in their entirety — could empathize: “totally devastated for Ilia,” she later posted on Threads.

Meanwihle, Biles has said she is still unsure as to whether or not she will compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

For now, the most decorated gymnast of all-time has other priorities and is listening to her body, too.

“I’m really trying to enjoy life, to spend time with my husband, go support him at his games, live my life as a woman,” she said in an interview with French sports daily L’Equipe published in April last year. “I’ve accomplished so much in my sport. For me to come back, it would really have to excite me.”

“Whether on the apparatus or in the stands, I still don’t know that,” she told L’Equipe. “But 2028 seems so far away, and my body is aging. I felt it in Paris.”

The American gymnast won three gold medals and a silver at the Paris Olympics, bringing her career tally to seven Olympic gold medals and 11 medals overall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.