In case you have not already heard, Simone Biles was revealed as the Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2025 on Monday, March 31. For those who have been living under a rock and do not know who Biles is and how she has impacted the world of sports, you have no choice but to read on. Imagine sitting in your graduation gown, nervous and excited, when Simone Biles—yes, the Simone Biles—walks onto the stage to deliver your commencement speech. That’s not just a dream; it recently became reality. And for the student-athletes in the crowd? It hit differently. This isn’t just about a speech. It’s about inspiration, resilience, and the intersection of sports and life. Let’s dive into how student-athletes reacted when one of the greatest athletes of all time took the mic—and their breath away.
At just 28-years-old, Simone Arianna Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. Across floor exercises, vault, and balance beam, the three-time Oympian has 11 Olympic medals, seven of which are gold and 25 World Championship medals, including 12 gold. Biles is also the first African-American woman to win a gymnastics world championship, the first American female athlete to win seven all-around national titles, and the first female gymnast to earn three consecutive World All-Around titles.
Biles was first introduced to gymnastics when she was six years old. 10 years later, Biles made her international debut as a gymnast in the U.S. Junior National Team in 2013, securing her name as a child prodigy. She now has five elements named after her — two floor exercises, two on the fault, and one on the balance beam.
As this year’s commencement speaker, Biles is a particular inspiration for WashU’s graduating student-athletes. “As a student-athlete, I’m super excited that Simone Biles is the commencement speaker. She’s been someone I’ve looked up to since I was little,” senior and sprinter Nicole Stewart said. “Not only is she an amazing athlete, but I really value all that she’s done for women, Black people, athletes as a whole.”
While Biles is an amazing gymnast, she is also an inspiration for all — athlete or not. After experiencing “the twisties,” a dangerous mental block where a gymnast loses their sense of their body’s location mid-air, Biles withdrew from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. Biles’ prioritization of her mental and physical health prompted critical conversations about the immense pressure athletes face.
“[Biles] showed me that you can have bravery and you can have courage to advocate for yourself and to show up for yourself; if something doesn’t feel right, you have to be the one to advocate for yourself,” Stewart said. “[She] unlocked something in me that allowed me to be able to check-in with myself and not just push past mental stressors that were bothering me.”
While Biles is not the first big-name athlete to publicly discuss her mental health, her story sheds light on the demands of elite athletes. She reminds us that despite what their bodies can do, Olympic athletes are still human and battle with mental health issues like anyone else. “Mental health is such a prevalent thing, and we all deal with it every day, and it’s something that is very real,” men’s basketball senior Hayden Doyle said. “To hear the perspective from someone who, on the outside, [seems] perfect, has it all, and is the best in the world at what she does, but is still struggling with [her mental health], makes it OK that everyday, normal college students and college athletes … deal with [mental health issues] too.”
