Simone Biles: The Most Decorated Gymnast in History

Simone Biles is an American artistic gymnast. Having won eleven Olympic medals and thirty World Championship medals, Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history[1] and is largely recognized as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. In 2021, she sparked a global conversation about mental health in sport, after she decided against competing in a number of events at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games citing mental health reasons. In doing so, she became an advocate for mental wellbeing and reminded many of the importance of balance and wellbeing, as well as achieving success.

Wikimedia CommonsSimone Biles at the 2016 Olympics all-around gold medal podium

Early Life and Introduction to Gymnastics

Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio to Shanon Biles, and is the third of four siblings. Biles’ birth mother struggled with addiction which left her unable to provide adequate care for the children; when Simone was just three years old, she and her siblings were removed from their home and placed into foster care.[2] Fortunately, when she was six years old, Simone and her younger sister were adopted by their grandfather, Ron Biles, and his second wife Nellie. Simone’s eldest siblings were adopted by Ron’s sister Harriet.

That same year, Biles tried gymnastics for the very first time and those around her quickly recognized her talent. In 2005 at eight years old, Biles began training under American artistic gymnastics coach Aimee Boorman. Six years later, Biles began her elite gymnastics career when she competed at the 2011 American Classic in Houston, Texas; she placed first on vault and balance beam, third all-around, fourth on floor, and eighth on uneven bars.[3] The following year, Biles competed once again at the American Classic, placing first in the all-around and vault, tied second on floor, third on balance beam, and fourth on uneven bars, which was enough to earn her a place at the 2012 USA Gymnastics National Championships.[4] At the 2013 American Cup, Biles made her senior international debut where she placed second.

World Championship Success

Throughout her senior career so far Biles has won thirty medals at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, twenty-three of which are gold. Biles first competed at the World Championships in October 2013, where she placed first in the individual all-around and floor, second on the vault, and third on the balance beam.[5] Since then, Biles has dominated the competition year after year. Not only has Biles won the most World Artistic Gymnastics Championship medals, but thorough her career she has redefined the standards of excellence in gymnastics through innovation and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the sport. Biles has a total of five gymnastics skills named after her (two on vault, two on floor, and another on the balance beam), as she was the first athlete ever to perform them.

2016 Summer Olympics: Biles’ First Olympic Games

At her first Olympics, the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, Biles gained global recognition and solidified her status as one of the greatest of all time. She stunned the world when she won an unprecedented four gold medals and one bronze; the four golds were in the individual and team all-around, floor, and vault, and the bronze was for the balance beam event.[6] 

Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil via Wikimedia CommonsSimone Biles at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games

2020 Summer Olympics: Putting Mental Health First

During the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games (which took place in 2021 owing to the COVID-19 restrictions), Simone Biles won what she has since called her most meaningful medal.[7] Biles was due to compete in the final of the Women’s Team Gymnastics event after qualifying in the preliminary rounds, during which it was noted that she seemed more nervous than people expected. After the qualifying round, Biles shared on social media that she felt “the weight of the world,”[8] on her shoulders. The first of the four events in the team category was the vault and Biles performed last out of the four for the U.S. team; whilst in the air she simplified her routine, making one and a half turns rather than two, and almost fell when landing.[9] Biles had fallen victim to a mental block, sometimes referred to the ‘twisties’ in the world of gymnastics. In essence, the athlete’s mind and body become out of sync when turning in the air,[10] which can be extremely dangerous when attempting to complete challenging routines.

After the vault, Biles decided against continuing in the other three events alongside her teammates, worried that not only might she injure herself, but jeopardize her teammates’ chance of securing a medal. The team won silver, second to the Russian team. In a press-conference following the event, she said:

I just felt like it would be a little bit better to take a back seat to work on my mindfulness, and I knew that the girls would do an absolutely great job. I didn't want to risk the team a medal for kind of my screw-ups because they've worked way too hard for that. So, I just decided that those girls need to go in and do the rest the competition.[11]

Later, Biles also withdrew from the individual all-around event, the individual vault, uneven bars, and floor final, deciding not to risk injury and prioritize her mental wellbeing. However, a few days later, she decided to compete in the balance beam final with a slightly simpler routine for which she won a bronze medal. On the bronze medal, Biles said:

It means more than all of the golds because I pushed through so much the last five years and the last week while I’ve even been here. […] I didn’t really care about the outcome. I was just happy that I made the routine and that I got to compete one more time.[12]

2024 Summer Olympics: The Comeback

On August 5^th, 2024, Biles finished competing in her third Olympic Games after making an incredible comeback, having won four more medals. She won gold along with her teammates in the Women’s Team event, gold in the individual all-around and vault events, and silver in the individual floor event. She said in a press conference:

I've accomplished way more than in my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics, but in the sport. A couple years ago, I didn't think I'd be back here at an Olympic Games, so competing and then walking away with four medals... I'm not mad about it. I'm pretty proud of myself.[13]

Wikimedia CommonsSimone Biles at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Awards and Recognition

Throughout her career, Simone Biles has received numerous awards and honors. She has been named the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year three times, in 2017, 2019, and 2020. She was named the Best Female Athlete at the ESPY Awards, Best in Sports at the Shorty Awards, and one of the most influential people by Time Magazine in 2017. The following year ESPN named her the Most Dominant Athlete.[14]

In 2022, Biles received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that can be awarded to civilians in the U.S. 25 years old at the time, she was the youngest person ever to have been granted the honor.[15]

President Joe Biden presents the Medal of Freedom to gymnast Simon Biles, Thursday, July 7, 2022, in the East Room of the White House.Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz via Wikimedia Commons

In 2024, Biles was awarded the Comeback of the Year Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards; it was her fourth Laureus Award. Later in the year, she received the ESPY Best Comeback Athlete Award.

Conclusion

Simone Biles has overcome much adversity throughout her life. From being raised in the foster care system to becoming history’s most decorated gymnast, Biles' journey serves as inspiration to people from all over the world. The events at the 2020 Olympic Games sparked a global conversation and emphasized the importance of maintaining both physical and mental well-being. In 2024, Biles came back better than ever and reminded us why she is one of the greatest of all time.

[1] The Associated Press. Simone Biles becomes the most decorated gymnast in history. [Online] Available https://www.npr.org/2023/10/06/1204379375/simone-biles-most-decorated-gymnast-history. 2023.

[2] Biles, Simone. Simone Biles: I went from foster care to the Olympics. [Online] Available https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/05/opinions/foster-care-education-olympics-opinion-biles/index.html. 2018.

[3] https://simonebiles.com/about/

[4] Ibid.

[5] https://thegymter.net/2013/10/06/2013-world-championships-results/

[6] https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/rio-2016/results/gymnastics-artistic

[7] Fieldstadt, Elisha. Simone Biles says Tokyo bronze means more than all her golds. [Online] Available https://www.nbcnews.com/news/olympics/simone-biles-says-tokyo-bronze-means-more-all-her-golds-n1275804. 2021.

[8] https://www.instagram.com/p/CRxsq_kBZrP/?img_index=1

[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvqduyoOgiI

[10] Giambalvo, Emily. Simone Biles said she got the ‘twisties.’ Gymnasts immediately understood. [Online] Available https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/28/twisties-gymnastics-simone-biles-tokyo-olympics/. 2021.

[11] Bregman, Scott. Simone Biles' bravest act: choosing herself. [Online] Available https://olympics.com/en/news/simone-biles-bravest-act-choosing-herself. 2022.

[12] Fieldstadt, Elisha. 2021.

[13] McCarvel, Nick. Simone Biles is Done Competing at Paris 2024: "I've accomplished way more than in my wildest dreams". [Online] Available https://olympics.com/en/news/simone-biles-done-competing-paris-2024-accomplished-more-than-dreams-olympics. 2024.

[14] https://simonebiles.com/about/

[15] Kindelan, Katie. Simone Biles awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom. [Online] Available https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/simone-biles-awarded-presidential-medal-freedom/story?id=86370058#:~:text=At%2025%2C%20Biles%20made%20history,the%20White%20House%20on%20Thursday. 2022.