Simone Arianne Biles Owens (néeBiles; born March 14, 1997) is an Americanartistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history.[4] She is widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time[5] and one of the greatest female athletes in history.[6] With 11 Olympic medals, she is tied withVěra Čáslavská as thesecond-most decorated female Olympic gymnast behindLarisa Latynina, and has the most Olympic medals earned by a U.S. gymnast.[7]
At theOlympic Games, Biles is a two-time gold medalist in the individual all-around (2016,2024). She is also a two-time champion on vault (2016,2024), the2016 champion and2024 silver medalist on floor exercise, and a two-time bronze medalist on balance beam (2016,2020). Biles led the gold medal-winningUnited States teams in2016, dubbed the "Final Five," and in2024, dubbed the "Golden Girls".[8] At the2020 Summer Olympics, where she was favored to win at least four of the six available gold medals, she withdrew from most of the competition after the qualification round due to "thetwisties", a temporary loss of air awareness while performing twisting elements. She won a silver medal with theUnited States team nicknamed the "Fighting Four".[9]
At theWorld Championships, she is the most decorated - male or female - artistic gymnast of all time with 30 total medals in which 23 of them are Gold. Biles is a six-time individual all-around champion (2013,2014,2015,2018,2019 and2023), six-time floor exercise champion (2013–2015, 2018–2019, 2023), and four-time balance beam champion (2014–2015, 2019, 2023), all record-high totals. She is also a two-time vault champion (2018–2019) and a member of a record-high five gold medal-winning United States teams (2014–2015, 2018–2019, 2023). She is also a four-time World silver medalist (2013–2014 and 2023 on vault, 2018 on uneven bars), a three-time World bronze medalist (2015 on vault, 2013 and 2018 on balance beam).
Domestically, Biles has won a record-high nineUnited States national all-around championships (2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021, 2023–2024); her win in 2024 made her the oldest female gymnast to ever win the title. She is also a seven-time champion on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, a two-time uneven bars champion, and the only woman to win all five gold medals in a single championships twice (2018,2024).
Biles is the sixth woman to win an individual all-around title at both the Olympics and the World Championships and the first sinceLilia Podkopayeva in 1996 to hold both titles simultaneously. She is the tenth female gymnast and first American female gymnast to win aWorld medal on every event, and the first female gymnast sinceDaniela Silivaș in 1988 to win a medal on every event at a single Olympics or World Championships. Biles is the originator of the most difficult skill on women's vault, balance beam, and floor exercise and the only gymnast to attempt each skill to date.
Biles was born on March 14, 1997, inColumbus, Ohio,[15][16] the third of four siblings.[17] Her birth mother, Shanon Biles, was unable to care for Simone or her other children. All four went in and out offoster care.[17][18]
In 2000, Biles's maternal grandfather, Ron Biles, and his second wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles,[19] began caring temporarily for Shanon's children in the northHouston suburb ofSpring, Texas, after learning his grandchildren were in foster care. In 2003, the couple formally adopted Simone and her younger sister Adria. Ron's sister, Shanon's aunt Harriet, adopted the two oldest children.[20][17][21] Simone holds Belizean citizenship through her adoptive mother and considers Belize to be her second home.[22] Biles and her family areCatholic.[23]
Biles attendedBenfer Elementary School inHarris County, Texas.[24] In 2012, Biles switched from public school tohome schooling, allowing her to increase her training from about 20 to 32 hours a week. She earned her high-school diploma in mid-2015. Biles verbally committed toUCLA on August 4, 2014,[25] and signed aNational Letter of Intent in November 2014,[26] planning to defer enrollment until after the2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Instead, on July 29, 2015, she announced that she would turn professional and forfeit herNCAA eligibility to compete for UCLA.[27]
Early gymnastics career
Biles first tried gymnastics at age 6 during a day-care field trip.[28] The instructors suggested she continue with the sport, and Biles soon enrolled in an optional training program at Bannon's Gymnastics.[29] She began training with coachAimee Boorman at age eight.[30]
2011–12: Junior elite
Biles began her elite gymnastics career at age 14 on July 1, 2011, at the 2011 American Classic inHouston. She placed third all-around, first on vault and balance beam, fourth on floor exercise, and eighth on uneven bars.[31] Later that month, Biles competed at the 2011 U.S. Classic inChicago, Illinois, where she placed 20th all-around, fifth on vault and floor exercise.[32][33]
Biles's first meet of 2012 was the American Classic hosted inHuntsville, Texas. She placed first all-around and on vault, tied for second on floor exercise, placed third on balance beam, and fourth on uneven bars.[34][35]
Biles's placement in the American Classic secured her a spot to compete at the 2012 USA Gymnastics National Championships.[34] She later competed at the 2012 U.S. Classic in Chicago. She finished first all-around and on vault, second on floor exercise, and sixth on balance beam. In June, she made her second appearance at the U.S. National Championships inSt. Louis,Missouri. She finished third all-around, first on vault, and sixth on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.[36] After this performance, Biles was named to the U.S. Junior National Team by a committee headed byMárta Károlyi, the National Team Coordinator (2001–2016).
Senior gymnastics career
2013
Biles's senior international debut was in March at the 2013American Cup, aFIG World Cup event. She andKatelyn Ohashi were named as replacements forElizabeth Price and 2012 Olympic gold medalistKyla Ross, both of whom withdrew from the competition because of injuries.[37][38][39] Biles led for two rotations but finished second behind her teammate, Ohashi, after a fall off the beam.[40]
Biles traveled toJesolo, Italy, to compete at the 2013City of Jesolo Trophy. She took the all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise titles in addition to contributing to the U.S. team's gold medal. She and the U.S. delegation next competed at an international tri-meet inChemnitz, Germany, against teams from Germany andRomania. The U.S. won the team gold medal. In addition, Biles won the vault, balance beam, and floor titles, and tied for second in the all-around, behind Kyla Ross, after a fall on the uneven bars.[36][41]
In July, Biles competed at the 2013 U.S. Classic. She performed poorly, falling several times, and did not compete vault after twisting her ankle on the floor exercise. In the aftermath of this poor performance, Biles consulted a sports psychologist[42] whom she credits with helping her anxiety and confidence issues and allowing her to begin her streak of dominance in the sport.[43]
Biles competed at the2013 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships in August, where she was crowned the national all-around champion. Biles also won silver in all four individual events.[36] After the USA Gymnastics National Championships, Biles was named to the Senior National Team and was invited to the qualifying camp for the2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Texas. She was selected for the World Championships team.
In October, Biles competed at the2013 World Championships inAntwerp, Belgium. She qualified first in the all-around, second to the vault final, sixth to the uneven bars final, fifth to the balance beam final, and first to the floor final, making her the first American gymnast to qualify to the all-around and all four event finals sinceShannon Miller in1991.[44] Biles competed cleanly during the women's individual all-around and won the competition with a score of 60.216, almost a point ahead of silver medalist Ross, and almost a point and a half better than the bronze medalist,2010 world all-around championAliya Mustafina.[45] Biles subsequently had surgery forbone spurs in her righttibia, sidelining her for three weeks.[46]
At the age of 16, Biles became the seventh American woman and the first African American to win the world all-around title. In the event finals, she won silver on the vault, behind defending world champion and Olympic silver medalistMcKayla Maroney and ahead of 2008 Olympic gold medalistHong Un Jong of North Korea; bronze on the balance beam, behind Mustafina and Ross; and gold on the floor exercise, ahead of Italy'sVanessa Ferrari and Romania'sLarisa Iordache. She finished fourth in the uneven bars final, behind China'sHuang Huidan, Ross, and Mustafina.[47]
2014
Biles missed the start of the season due to injury, sitting out the 2014 AT&T American Cup and the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships.[48][49] Her debut that year was at the U.S. Classic in Chicago. She won the all-around by a wide margin and also took first place on vault, beam (tied with Ross), and floor.[50] At the 2014 USA Gymnastics National Championships, Biles repeated as national all-around champion after two days of competition, finishing more than four points ahead of silver medalist Ross, despite a fall from the balance beam during her final routine of the meet. She won the gold on vault and floor, tied for the silver on balance beam withAlyssa Baumann, and finished fourth on the uneven bars.[36] She was once again selected for the Senior National Team.
On September 17, Biles was selected to compete at the2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships inNanning, China.[51] She dominated the preliminary round despite a major error on the uneven bars, qualifying in first place to the all-around, vault, beam, and floor finals, in addition to contributing to the U.S. team's first-place qualification into the team final. During the team final, Biles led the United States to its second consecutive world team championship, which they won over the second-place Chinese team by nearly seven points. In the all-around, Biles performed cleanly on all four events, bettering her bars score from qualifications by more than a point, and won her second consecutive world all-around title ahead of Ross and RomanianLarisa Iordache. Biles became the second American woman to repeat as world all-around champion, following Miller (1993 and 1994), and the first woman of any nationality to do so since Russia'sSvetlana Khorkina (2001 and 2003).[47] Biles finished behind North Korea's Hong Un Jong in the vault competition, taking her second consecutive silver medal in that event. She won the gold in the balance beam final ahead of China's Bai Yawen and the gold in the floor exercise final, again, ahead of Iordache. This brought her total of World Championship gold medals to six, the most ever by an American gymnast, surpassing Miller's five.[52]
On July 25, she competed at the U.S. Classic and finished first in the all-around, ahead of 2012 Olympic all-around championGabby Douglas andMaggie Nichols, with a score of 62.400. On the beam, she scored 15.250 and took first at the event, ahead of Douglas and 2012 Olympic beam bronze medalistAly Raisman. She scored 16.050 on the floor and claimed first in the event, 1.050 points ahead of Douglas and also ahead of Nichols andBailie Key. She had a small hop on herAmanar vault and scored 16.000. She then scored 15.150 on her second vault, to score an average of 15.575 and place first in the event, ahead of 2014 Worlds vault bronze medalist and teammate MyKayla Skinner, who averaged 14.950. Biles ended on bars and scored a 15.100 to claim the all-around title. She placed fourth in the event behind 2014 Worlds teammateMadison Kocian, Douglas, and Key.[55]
At the 2015 U.S. National Championships, Biles secured her third all-around national title, becoming only the second woman ever to do so, 23 years afterKim Zmeskal (1990, 1991, 1992).[56]
Biles, along with Douglas,Dowell, Kocian, Nichols, Raisman, and Skinner, was selected to represent the United States at the2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Biles once again qualified in first place in the all-around, vault, beam, and floor finals. Her uneven bars score would have qualified her in eighth place in that final as well, but she was excluded, as per the rules, after teammates Kocian and Douglas qualified ahead of her. In team finals, she helped the United States team win their third consecutive gold medal at a World Championships event.[57] During the all-around final, Biles performed below her usual standard, taking a large hop on the vault, landing out of bounds on floor (which she stated was a first[58]), and grasping the beam to prevent a fall. However, her final score of 60.399 was more than enough to secure the title with her largest margin of victory yet (over a point ahead of silver medalist Gabby Douglas and bronze medalist Larisa Iordache).[59] With that victory, Biles became the first woman to win three consecutive all-around titles inWorld Gymnastics Championships history.[60] During day one of event finals, Biles competed on vault, taking bronze behindMaria Paseka (RUS) and Hong Un Jong (PRK). On day two, she competed on the balance beam and floor exercise, retaining her world title in both events by large margins. This brought Biles's total World Championships medal count to 14, the most for any American, and total gold medal count to 10, the most for any woman in World Championships history.
2016
In April, Biles began her season at the Pacific Rim Championships, where she won the all-around title and had the highest score on vault (where she debuted a more difficult second vault), floor exercise (where she debuted a new floor routine), and balance beam. Additionally, the U.S. won the team title by a wide margin. Biles did not compete in the event finals. On June 4, Biles competed at the Secret U.S. Classic in two events only, the uneven bars and beam. She placed first on balance beam with a 15.650 and placed fifth on uneven bars with a 15.1.
In the following weeks at the 2016 U.S. National Championships, Biles won the all-around title by a wide margin of 3.9 points overAly Raisman. She won the gold medal on vault and floor exercise, receiving scores of at least 16 all four times. She also won the gold medal on the balance beam and placed fourth on uneven bars.
In September 2016, Biles's medical information was released, and she was accused of doping to enhance performance by the Russian media following the Russian cyber espionage groupFancy Bear's hack into theWorld Anti-Doping Agency. Biles then disclosed on Twitter that she hasattention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was permitted to take medication for it, having applied for and received atherapeutic use exemption. She was applauded for opening up about ADHD.[62][63]
On August 7, Biles competed in the Women's Qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics, helping the U.S. team to qualify in first place to the final with a score of 185.238 (9.959 points ahead of the second-place team, China). She also qualified as the top gymnast in four of the five individual finals: the all-around with a score of 62.416, vault with an average score of 16.050, balance beam with a score of 15.633, and floor exercise with a score of 15.733.
On August 9, Biles won her first Olympic gold medal in the gymnastics team event. The only gymnast for Team USA to compete in all four events in the final, she contributed an all-around score of 61.833 (15.933 on vault, 14.800 on bars, 15.300 on beam, and 15.800 on floor) as the Americans won the gold with a score of 184.897, more than 8 points ahead of the silver-medal Russian team.
Biles won the gold medal in the individual all-around on August 11, ahead of teammateAly Raisman and Russia'sAliya Mustafina.[66] Biles earned a total score of 62.198 with 15.866 on the vault, 14.966 on the uneven bars, 15.433 on the balance beam, and 15.933 on the floor. Biles had the highest scores on vault, balance beam, and floor; she had the only score over 15 on balance beam in the finals. She and Raisman became the second pair of American gymnasts to win gold and silver in the individual all-around, afterNastia Liukin andShawn Johnson in2008.
In the vault final, she scored 15.900 for her Amânar and 16.033 for her Cheng to win her second individual gold medal with an average score of 15.966, more than 0.7 points ahead of second-place finisherMaria Paseka of Russia and third-place finisherGiulia Steingruber ofSwitzerland.
In the balance beam final, she grabbed the beam with her hands (a mandatory 0.5-point deduction) after underrotating her front tuck and scored 14.733. Despite her mistake, she won the bronze behind teammateLaurie Hernandez, who won the silver with a score of 15.333, andSanne Wevers of the Netherlands, who won the gold with a score of 15.466).
In the floor exercise final, she won the gold with a score of 15.966. TeammateAly Raisman won the silver with a score of 15.500 andAmy Tinkler of Great Britain won bronze scoring 14.933. With Biles's five total medals along withMadison Kocian's silver medal on the uneven bars, Team USA claimed a medal in every women's artistic gymnastics event for the first time since 1984.
A homecoming parade for Biles inSpring, Texas, on August 24, 2016
With four Olympic gold medals, Biles set an American record for most gold medals in women's gymnastics at a single Games, and equaled several other records with her medals won in Rio.[67] Biles winning four gold medals was the first instance of a quadruple gold medallist in women's gymnastics at a single Games sinceEcaterina Szabo (Romania) in 1984, and fifth overall, afterLarisa Latynina (USSR, 1956),Agnes Keleti (Hungary, 1956),Věra Čáslavská (Czechoslovakia, 1968) and Szabo. Biles became the sixth female gymnast to have won an individual all-around title at both the World Championships and the Olympics—the others being Larisa Latynina,Věra Čáslavská,Ludmilla Tourischeva,Elena Shushunova, andLilia Podkopayeva. Biles is the first female gymnast since Lilia Podkopayeva (Ukraine) in 1996 to win gold in the all-around as well as in an event final, and the first female gymnast since Podkopayeva to win the Olympic all-around title while holding the World and European/American individual all-around titles. She joined Latynina (1956–1960), Čáslavská (1964–1968), and Ludmilla Tourischeva (1968–1972), as the fourth female gymnast to win every major all-around title in an Olympic cycle.
Biles joinedMary Lou Retton in 1984,Shannon Miller in 1992, andNastia Liukin in 2008, in winning five women's gymnastics medals at a single Olympics, along with Szabo (Roumania, 1984),Nadia Comaneci (Roumania, 1976), andKarin Janz (East Germany, 1972).Olga Mostepanova (USSR) also won five gold medals at theAlternate Olympics in 1984. The overall record for most women's Olympic gymnastics medals at a single game (majority gold), remains six medals (Latynina, 1956, 1960, and 1964, Keleti, 1956, Čáslavská, 1968,Daniela Silivas, 1988).
Biles and her teammateGabby Douglas are the only American female gymnasts to win both the individual all-around gold and team gold at the same Olympics. Douglas won both at the 2012 London Games.
Biles was chosen by Team USA to be the flag bearer in the closing ceremonies,[68] becoming the first American female gymnast to receive this honor.
After the 2016 Rio Games, Biles co-wrote an autobiography with journalist Michelle Burford,Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, which reads: "I want people to reach for their dreams and there are so many people who have inspired me with their love and encouragement along the way and I want to pass on that inspiration to readers."[70] The book reached number one onThe New York Times best sellers Young Adult list the week of January 8, 2017[71] and was turned into aLifetime biopic.[72]
Biles competed onseason 24 ofDancing with the Stars, attempting to replicate her Rio teammateLaurie Hernandez's win inseason 23. Paired with professional dancerSasha Farber, she was favored to win but was eliminated on May 15, 2017, one week before the finals, finishing in fourth place.[73]
In August, during the2017 P&G National Championships, Biles said that she had returned to the gym to start conditioning.[74] Her longtime coach, Aimee Boorman, had moved to Florida with her family; in October Biles hired coachLaurent Landi, who had coached her Olympic teammateMadison Kocian.
2018: Return to competition
Biles was added back to theNational Team on March 1 after the Athlete Selection Committee viewed recent videos of her performances.[75][76] Her first competition of the year was theU.S. Classic in July, where she won the all-around title ahead ofRiley McCusker by 1.200 points.[77] She also won the gold medal on floor and balance beam and recorded the highest single vault score.[78] Her all-around score of 58.700 became the highest score recorded under the 2017–2020Code of Points despite a fall on the uneven bars and an out-of-bounds penalty on floor exercise.[79] She showed numerous upgrades to her routines from 2016, including aFabrichnova (double-twisting double back dismount) and aVan Leeuwen on uneven bars, and aMoors (double-twisting double layout) on floor exercise.
In August, Biles competed at the2018 National Championships. She placed first in every event over the two days of competition, the first woman to do so sinceDominique Dawes in 1994. Biles won the all-around title 6.55 points ahead of second-place finisher and reigning world championMorgan Hurd and set a record for the most national all-around titles with five.[80][81][82] This placement also marked her fourth national vault title, third national balance beam and floor exercise titles, and first national uneven bars title. Her 60.100 all-around score from the first day of competition was the first score recorded above 60 since her own all-around victory at the 2016 Olympics.[83] She was named to her seventh national team and was invited to the October selection camp for the 2018 World Championships.[84]
In October, Biles participated in the World Team Selection Camp. She placed first in the all-around as well as first in vault and floor exercise. She placed second on the uneven bars behind McCusker, and fourth on the balance beam (due to hands touching the mat on dismount) behindKara Eaker, McCusker, andRagan Smith. Biles debuted a new vault: aYurchenko with a half turn onto the table with a stretched salto forward off with two full twists (Cheng with an extra half twist).[87] The following day she was named to the team to compete at the2018 World Championships alongside McCusker, Hurd,Grace McCallum, Eaker, and alternateRagan Smith.[88][89]
In late October, at the2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Biles went to anemergency room the night before thequalifying round because of stomach pains that turned out to be akidney stone.[90] After confirming that it was notappendicitis, she checked herself out of the hospital.[91] The next day, she qualified to the all-around, vault, balance beam and floor exercise finals in first place, and to the uneven bars final in second place behindNina Derwael of Belgium. After successfully performing the vault she premiered at the selection camp, it was named the Biles in the Code of Points, and given a difficulty value of 6.4 (for the 2017–2020 Code of Points), which was tied with theProdunova for the most difficult women's vault ever competed. The US also qualified for the team final in first place.[92] During the team final, Biles competed on all four events, recording the highest score of any competitor on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise. The U.S. team won the gold medal with a score of 171.629, 8.766 points ahead of second-place Russia,[93] beating previous margin of victory records set in the open-endedcode of points era at the2014 World Championships (6.693) and2016 Rio Olympics (8.209).[94]
In the all-around final, Biles won the gold medal by a margin of 1.7 points despite falling on both the vault and the balance beam. The overwhelming difficulty gap between her and her competitors allowed her to claim the title with a score of 57.491 over silver medalistMai Murakami of Japan and bronze medalistMorgan Hurd.[95] Earning her fourth world all-around title, Biles set a new record for most women'sWorld All-Around titles, surpassing the previous record of three held bySvetlana Khorkina.[96] She also became the first defending Olympic women's all-around champion to earn a world all-around title since 1972 Olympic championLyudmilla Turischeva did so in 1974.[97]
In the event finals, Biles won the gold medal in vault, her first-ever world vault title. The two vaults she competed in were a Cheng and anAmanar. This marked her thirteenth World gold medal, meaning Biles had won the mostGymnastics World Championships titles of any gender, breaking Soviet/Belarusian gymnastVitaly Scherbo's previous record of twelve gold medals.[98] She then won the silver medal on uneven bars behindNina Derwael of Belgium. By winning a medal on uneven bars, Biles became the first American and the tenth female gymnast from any country to havewon a World Championship medal on every event.[99] The following day, she won the bronze medal on balance beam behindLiu Tingting of China andAna Padurariu of Canada after a large balance check on her Barani. She then won the gold medal in floor exercise with a strong routine. In doing so, she became the first U.S. gymnast and first non-Soviet gymnast to win amedal on every event at a single World Championships, as well as the first gymnast from any country to do so sinceElena Shushunova in1987. Her 6 medals at this World Championships brought her total number of world medals to 20, which tied her with Khorkina formost world medals won.[100]
In July, Biles competed at the2019 GK US Classic. Duringpodium training, she performed a triple-twisting double-tucked salto backwards (upgraded from aSilivas), but did not perform it during the competition.[110] Biles won the all-around, 2.1 points ahead of second-place finisherRiley McCusker. Individually, she placed fifth on bars behindMorgan Hurd,Sunisa Lee,Grace McCallum and McCusker, third on beam behindKara Eaker and McCusker, and first on floor exercise. She also had the highest single vault score, ahead ofJade Carey andMyKayla Skinner.[111]
In August, Biles competed at the2019 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships. She placed first in the all-around, with a two-day combined score of 118.500.[112] In the competition, she became the first woman to complete a triple twisting double somersault on floor exercise and the first gymnast to complete a double twisting double somersault dismount off the balance beam.[113][114][115] She placed first on vault, ahead ofJade Carey andMyKayla Skinner, first on balance beam ahead ofKara Eaker andLeanne Wong, first on floor exercise ahead of Carey andSunisa Lee, and third on uneven bars behind Lee andMorgan Hurd.[116]
Duringqualifications at the World Championships, Biles helped the USA qualify for the team final in first place, over five points ahead of second-place China. Individually, she qualified for the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise finals in first place, the vault final in second place by a margin of one one-thousandth below teammateJade Carey, and the uneven bars final in seventh place.[118][119] She debuted two new eponymous skills: theBiles II on floor exercise, a triple-twisting double-tucked somersault, and theBiles on balance beam, a double-twisting double-tucked somersault dismount.[120] Both elements were given the highest difficulty rating ofJ (1.0) for all elements on their respective apparatus, and the Biles II is the only element in artistic gymnastics to receive the J rating across all disciplines for both men and women.
In theteam final, Biles led Team USA to its fifth consecutive team title, contributing scores of 15.400, 14.600, 14.433, and 15.333 on vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, respectively. In doing so, Biles surpassed Russian gymnastSvetlana Khorkina as themost-decorated female gymnast in World Championship history. Her scores on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise were the highest of the day.[121] During theall-around final Biles won gold with a score of 58.999, a record-setting 2.1 points ahead of second-place finisherTang Xijing of China.[122] Once again, she recorded the highest scores of the day on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise.[123]
During the first day of event finals, Biles won the gold on vault, ahead of teammate Carey andEllie Downie of Great Britain. After earning a medal on vault, her 23rd World Championships medal, Biles tied the record for most medals won at theWorld Championships with male Belarusian gymnastVitaly Scherbo.[124] During the uneven bars final, Biles earned a score of 14.700, ranking fifth, one-tenth behind bronze medalist and teammateSunisa Lee.[125]
On the second day of event finals, Biles scored 15.066 on the balance beam, earning the gold medal overreigning World balance beam ChampionLiu Tingting andLi Shijia, both of China, by over 0.6 points. This marked Biles's 24th World Championships medal, surpassing Scherbo's record and making Biles the sole record holder for most World Championship medals won by a gymnast, whether male or female.[126] Before the final, Biles credited her improved confidence on beam in the past year to her coachCecile Canqueteau-Landi, who helped rework her routine following shaky performances in the event finals at the2016 Summer Olympics and the2018 World Championships.[127] Biles and Landi removed inconsistent skills including the Barani, front pike, and front tuck saltos, replacing them with skills such as an aerial cartwheel (which Biles had not performed since 2014) and introducing the upgraded Biles dismount.[127]
On floor exercise, Biles won gold with a score of 15.133, one point more than the silver medalistLee. By winning five gold medals in Stuttgart, Biles tied the record of most gold medals won at a single World Championships withLarisa Latynina andBoris Shakhlin, who both accomplished this at the1958 World Championships.[128] Furthermore, by winning her fifth gold medal on floor exercise, Biles tied the record for most world titles on one apparatus with ItalianJury Chechi (who won five gold medals on still rings) and RussianSvetlana Khorkina (who won five gold medals on uneven bars).[129]
2020
In February, it was announced that Biles was chosen to represent the United States at theTokyo World Cup taking place on April 4.[130] However, in MarchUSA Gymnastics announced that Biles would not attend due to concerns about theongoing COVID-19 pandemic bothdomestically and worldwide (includingJapan).[131] The following day the Japanese Gymnastics Association announced that they had canceled the event.[132]
2021
In May, Biles competed at theU.S. Classic. She debuted aYurchenko double pike vault, which no woman had ever completed before, en route to anotherU.S. Classic all-around title.[133][134] The new vault was given a preliminary D-score of 6.6, making it the highest-valued vault in women's gymnastics.[135]
In June, Biles competed at theU.S. National Championships and won her 7thnational all-around title and qualified for theOlympic Trials.[136] In addition to winning the all-around title by 4.7 points, Biles also placed first in the vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, as well as third in the uneven bars. At the Olympic Trials, Biles placed first and earned an automatic spot on theOlympic team. She finished 2.266 points ahead of second-place finisherSunisa Lee; however Lee's day two score of the competition (58.166) was higher than Biles's (57.533), which was the first time anyone had posted a higher single-day all-around score than Biles sinceKyla Ross in 2013.[137][138] Also named to the Olympic team were Lee, Biles'sclub teammateJordan Chiles, andGrace McCallum.[139]
2020 Summer Olympics
At the2020 Olympic Games, held in July and August 2021, Biles performed the all-around during the qualifications and helped the United States qualify for the team final, in second place behind theRussian team. She suffered several mishaps during qualifications: she bounced entirely off the floor landing on one of her tumbling passes and stepped one foot off the landing mat during her Cheng vault, and took several large stumbles back on her balance beam dismount. Despite these mistakes, Biles still qualified for the all-around final in first place. She also qualified in first place for the vault final, advanced to the floor exercise final in second place behindVanessa Ferrari, and qualified for the balance beam and uneven bars finals. She was the only athlete to qualify for all the individual finals.[140]
Following her qualifications performance, Biles stated on Instagram that she was "[feeling] the weight of the world on [her] shoulders" and that she felt affected by the pressure of the Olympics.[141]
"I say put mental health first. Because if you don't, then you're not going to enjoy your sport and you're not going to succeed as much as you want to. So it's OK sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are — rather than just battle through it."
– Simone Biles after withdrawing from the team final[142]
During warm-ups for the first rotation of theteam final, Biles balked on herAmanar vault mid-air, performing 1.5 twists instead of the expected 2.5. She repeated this in the competition, balking and performing the 1.5 twist with a large lunge and near-fall on the landing, and scored just 13.766 with a difficulty score of 5.0 (rather than the Amanar's 5.8). She subsequently left the competition floor (although she returned to the floor a few minutes later) and withdrew from the rest of the team competition, citing mental health issues. Biles later explained that she was inspired by fellow female OlympianNaomi Osaka, who had withdrawn from theFrench Open andWimbledon Championships earlier in the year for similar reasons.[143][144][145] The U.S. team went on to win the silver medal behind theRussian athletes.[146]On July 28, 2021, Biles withdrew from the finals of theindividual all-around competition, again citing mental health concerns.[147][148] Following further medical evaluation on July 30, she also withdrew from thevault anduneven bars finals, both scheduled for the first day of the individual event finals.[149] Due to a continued mental block, on July 31, Biles also withdrew from thefloor final, scheduled for the second day of individual event finals, while still leaving the possibility of competing in thebalance beam final on the last day of the event finals.[150] She later confirmed on August 2 that she would compete in the beam final.[151] Although Biles performed a relatively scaled-down routine with an easier double pike dismount in the beam final, she won the bronze medal behind China'sGuan Chenchen andTang Xijing. With the bronze, she tiedShannon Miller for most Olympic medals by an American female gymnast with seven total. Biles also tied Soviet/Russian female gymnastLarisa Latynina for most medals won by a woman of all time, with 32 combined World and Olympic medals.[152] She called her bronze beam medal her most meaningful one, as she felt it symbolized her focus on mental health and her perseverance.[153] Biles later revealed that her aunt had died unexpectedly two days before the beam event final.[154]
Biles explained that she withdrew primarily due to experiencing "the twisties", a psychological phenomenon causing a gymnast to lose air awareness while performing twisting elements, throughout the Olympics.[155] She noted that while it was not the first time she had had the twisties on vault or floor, it was the first time she experienced them on uneven bars and balance beam.[156] Biles made the decision to withdraw after the first rotation of the team final because she felt that she had "simply got so lost [her] safety was at risk as well as a team medal".[157] During the week,Juntendo University allowed Biles to practice at their gym, located an hour outside of Tokyo, where she could practice quietly away from the public eye.[158]
Some commentators criticized Biles, accusing her of being a "quitter" or selfishly depriving another athlete of the chance to compete.[159][160] She was also slandered with racist, sexist, and transphobic comments in the Russian state-owned media, as well as having been openly accused of being a drug cheat due to hertherapeutic use exemption for ADHD medication.[161][162][163] Multiple gymnasts, however, defended Biles's decision and relayed their own stories of struggling with the twisties.[164] Biles's decision to prioritize her mental health was generally widely praised and credited with starting a wider conversation about the role of mental health in sports.[165][166] Alongside Biles, other Olympians in Tokyo also showed greater willingness to discuss and publicly acknowledge mental health issues, indicative of a wider approach to sport where athletes are prioritizing their health over performance.[167]
2023
In late June, it was announced that Biles would return to competition at the2023 U.S. Classic, held on August 5 in theChicago metropolitan area.[168] She competed all four events for an all-around score of 59.100, finishing exactly five points ahead of runner-upLeanne Wong.[169][170] Biles also placed first on balance beam (14.800) and floor exercise (14.900). Although she did not attempt a second vault, she did complete aYurchenko double pike.[171] Biles also obtained the necessary qualification score to advance to the2023 U.S. National Championships.[172] At the National Championships Biles won her eighth national all-around title ahead ofShilese Jones andLeanne Wong. Additionally, she placed first on balance beam and floor exercise and third on uneven bars behind Jones andSkye Blakely. With her eighth national title, Biles broke the record ofAl Jochim, who won seven titles on the national level, the last one in 1933.[173] Additionally Biles became the oldest woman to win the title at 26 years and 166 days old; she surpassedLinda Metheny Mulvihill, who was 24 and 100 days in 1971.[174]
At theWorld Championships, Biles qualified in first place in the all-around final with a score of 58.932, nearly two points ahead of teammate Shilese Jones.[178] She also qualified in first place to every event final except for the uneven bars, where she placed 5th, earning a spot in that final. This made her the only gymnast to qualify for all individual event finals, at these World Championships.
In the team competition, Biles hit her routines on every event, contributing scores of 14.800, 14.466, 14.300, and 15.166 on vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise, respectively, to help the US to an unprecedented seventh consecutive team gold medal.[179]
In the all-around competition, Biles hit all her routines, save for a small stumble during her choreography on floor exercise. She received the highest scores of the day on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise and earned her sixth world all-around gold medal with an overall score of 58.399, ahead of Brazil'sRebeca Andrade and Biles's teammate Jones. With this, Simone Biles surpassedVitaly Scherbo as the most successful gymnast of all time at the Olympics and World Championships. In addition, she became the only gymnast besidesKōhei Uchimura to win the all-around title six times.[180]
In the vault final, Biles fell on her first vault, the Yurchenko double pike, and also incurred a deduction of 0.5 due to her coach spotting her on the podium. Despite this, she earned the silver medal with an average score of 14.549, only 0.201 points behind Andrade.[181] In the uneven bars final, she placed 5th with a score of 14.200.[182] In the balance beam final, she placed first with a score of 14.800,[183] one-tenth of a point ahead of the silver medalistZhou Yaqin. During the floor exercise final she won the gold medal with a score of 14.633 after a one-tenth penalty for a step out of bounds,[184] finishing with a lead of just .133 overRebeca Andrade. By winning an unprecedented sixth gold medal on floor, Biles also became the first gymnast in world championships history to win that many titles on one apparatus.[129]
2024
Biles opened her season at theCore Hydration Classic on May 18, where she placed first in the all-around and won her seventh career U.S. Classic all-around title. Additionally she recorded the highest single-vault score and placed first on floor exercise and second on uneven bars and balance beam behindShilese Jones andSunisa Lee respectively.[185]
At theU.S. Gymnastics Championships, she won the gold medal in all events and became the first gymnast to win nine all-around titles at the event. She won 5.9 points ahead of second-place finisherSkye Blakely.[186] Biles's all-around score on day one of 60.450 was the highest recorded score in this Olympic quad.[187] As a result, she qualified for theOlympic trials.[188]
At theOlympic trials, Biles placed first in the all-around, second on uneven bars, fourth on balance beam, and first on floor exercise. Despite falling off the balance beam on day two of the competition, she still won by over five points ahead of the runner-upSunisa Lee. After the competition, she was selected to represent theUnited States at the2024 Paris Olympics alongsideJade Carey,Jordan Chiles, Lee, andHezly Rivera.[189]
Ahead of the2024 Paris Olympics, Biles submitted a new skill for the code of points for theuneven bars, a Weiler kip with 1.5 pirouette, which would make her the only female gymnast to have a skill named on every apparatus.[190] She ultimately did not compete the skill.
During thequalification round, Biles and her team qualified for the team final in first place. Individually she qualified to the all around, vault, balance beam and floor exercise finals. Additionally she was the first reserve for the uneven bars final. During theteam final Biles competed on all four apparatuses and helped the United States win the gold medal ahead of second place Italy.
During theall-around final, Biles placed first ahead of rivalRebeca Andrade and defending championSunisa Lee, despite an uncharacteristic mistake on the uneven bars that left her behind Andrade andKaylia Nemour after two of four rotations.[191] Biles recovered by recording the top scores on balance beam and floor exercise of the night to win the competition. In winning the all-around competition Biles became the third female artistic gymnast to win two Olympic all-around titles afterLarisa Latynina (1956–1960) andVěra Čáslavská (1964–1968) and the first to do so non-consecutively.[192][193] She is one of eight Olympic gymnasts in any discipline to win two all-around titles along with Latynina, Caslavska,Alberto Braglia (MAG),Viktor Chukarin (MAG),Sawao Kato (MAG),Kohei Uchimura (MAG), andEvgeniya Kanaeva (RG); no one has ever won three.
During thevault final, Biles performed her eponymous Biles II (Yurchenko double pike) and a Cheng to win the gold medal; as a result, she became the second woman after Čáslavská to win two Olympic vault titles.[194] During thebalance beam final, Biles fell off the apparatus and incurred a three-tenth neutral deduction for not properly saluting the judges at the conclusion of her routine. She finished fifth as a result.[195][196] This marked the first time in her nine appearances in Olympic or World Championship beam finals that she did not win a medal; nevertheless, she is the most decorated gymnast on balance beam of all time with four gold and four bronze medals at Olympic and World Championship competition.
During thefloor exercise final, Biles incurred six-tenths worth of neutral deductions for going out of bounds. She scored 0.033 points less thanRebeca Andrade and won the silver medal.[197] This marked the first time ever in Biles's senior international career that she did not win floor exercise, ending her streak of 10 consecutive international gold medals on the apparatus.
After the gymnastics apparatus finals, Biles began wearing amedical boot for ceremonies and interviews due to a calf injury in her left leg that she had aggravated during the qualification round.[198][199]At theclosing ceremony, Biles was part of the ceremonial passing of the Olympic flag, signifying the end of the2024 Paris Olympics and the transition into the2028 Los Angeles Olympics.[200]
Biles was named individual Sportswoman of the Year by theWomen's Sports Foundation in 2014, and after the world championships, she was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25.[201][202] Biles was named Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year in December 2015, making her the fourth gymnast to win the honor.[203] In December 2016, Biles was chosen as one of thesponsors of theUS Navy aircraft carrierUSSEnterprise, alongside Olympic gold medal-winning swimmerKatie Ledecky.[204] They are the first Olympians to be given this honor. In 2016, Biles won theGlamour Award for the Record Breaker.[205] That same year, she was chosen as one ofBBC's 100 Women as well as ESPN's Woman of the Year.[206] In 2016, Biles became the third gymnast afterOlga Korbut andNadia Comăneci to be named theBBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.[207]
In February 2021, Biles criticized ESPN's SportsCenter for excluding women athletes in their "Greatest of All Time" picture.[227] In September 2021, she appeared on theTime 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, for "championing mental health".[228]
On July 7, 2022, Biles was presented with thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest honor given to civilians, by PresidentJoe Biden in a ceremony at the White House. She was among a group of 17 honorees, which includedMegan Rapinoe.[229][230] She is the youngest person to receive this award.[231]
Biles signed with theOctagon sports agency in July 2015, which also markets fellow American gymnastAly Raisman and Olympic swimmerMichael Phelps.[242] In November 2015, she announced her sponsorship byNike.[243] On November 23, 2015, she signed a deal to allow GK Elite Sportswear to sell a line of leotards bearing her name.[244] Later in 2015, Biles signed a deal with Core Power to become a spokesperson on its Everyday Awesome team of athletes.[245] In August 2016,Kellogg's put theFinal Five's picture on the Gold Medal Edition of Special berries; the back of the box showed Biles with one of her Rio gold medals.[246] After the 2016 Rio games, Biles signed deals to endorseProcter & Gamble,The Hershey Company, andUnited Airlines.[245] In September 2016, Biles became a spokesperson forMattress Firm's program of supporting foster homes.[247] In 2016, Biles signed a deal with Spieth America to create a line of gymnastics equipment, and another to become a spokesperson forBeats By Dr Dre.[248] In 2018, she worked with Caboodles to create and market products for women with active lifestyles.[249] In April 2021, Biles announced that she was leaving Nike for a new apparel sponsorship with theGap's Athleta brand.[250][251]
Personal life
Biles was in a relationship with fellow gymnast Stacey Ervin Jr. from August 2017 to March 2020.[252][253]
She began dating professionalAmerican football playerJonathan Owens in August 2020.[254] They met through the dating appRaya.[255] Biles announced her engagement to Owens on February 15, 2022,[256] and they were married on April 22, 2023.[257]
In September 2017, Biles spoke about havingattention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after her medical records were leaked online, revealing that she had been taking Ritalin (methylphenidate) to treat the condition during the Olympics. Having been diagnosed as a child, she had previously disclosed her condition to theWorld Anti-Doping Agency and obtained a medical exemption, allowing her to take the medication during competition. Biles said that ADHD is "nothing to be ashamed of and nothing that I'm afraid to let people know."[258][259][260]
Biles is known for performing extraordinarily difficult skills well. Her 2023 routine on vault and her 2024 routine on floor exercise are the most difficult ever performed in women's artistic gymnastics. As of 2024, she is the sole gymnast to have competed four skills valued atH or higher in the 2022–2024 Code of Points on floor exercise.
Skills ratedE or higher that she has performed in her senior career include:
Biles's named elements on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise introduced during the 2017–2021 quad are the most difficult elements on each apparatus (theBiles on beam,Biles on vault, andBiles II on floor). She was the sole gymnast to have performed any of these skills in an FIG international competition until Hillary Heron of Panama performed the Biles I on floor at the 2023 World Championships.[264] In May 2021, she became the first woman to complete a Yurchenko double piked on the vault during competition.[265]
^O'Neal, Lonnae (July 1, 2016)."The Difficulty Of Being Simone Biles".Andscape.Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. RetrievedAugust 19, 2016.Simone's grandparents, Ron (grandfather) and Nellie (step-grandmother), became her legal guardian when Biles was 6. They met while Nellie was in college in San Antonio and Ron was in the Air Force and raising daughter Shanon as a single father.
^"Simone Biles".Biography.com.Archived from the original on May 20, 2017. RetrievedMay 30, 2017.
^Nguyen, Jasmine (December 3, 2018)."Simone Biles makes surprise visit to Benfer".Klein ISD Newsroom.Klein Independent School District.Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. RetrievedAugust 25, 2021.It was an exciting day last Thursday for Benfer Bobcats as they received a surprise visit from former student and four-time Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles.
^Löfflmann, Georg (January 18, 2018). "Competing Visions for America – Popular Discourses of Grand Strategy on the New York Times Best-Sellers List".American Grand Strategy under Obama. Edinburgh University Press.doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9781474419765.003.0004.ISBN9781474419765.
^Allentuck, Danielle (August 12, 2019)."Simone Biles Set a New Standard. Can U.S.A. Gymnastics Do the Same?".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. RetrievedAugust 13, 2019.Her winning performance included two skills never executed successfully before in women's gymnastics competition: a triple-double (two flips with three twists) on floor exercise and a double-double dismount (two flips with two twists) on balance beam.
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