As the world watches the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, all eyes will be on 27-year-old gymnast Simone Biles. After withdrawing from competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo to focus on her mental health, she’s hoping to get a little redemption for herself and her teammates, who brought home a silver medal in the women’s team competition.
But Biles has never backed down from a challenge. Throughout her career, she has overcome obstacles and established herself as one of the GOATs. She’s got the receipts to prove it as the gymnast with the most medals won at a world championship and the most U.S. all-around national titles. And did we mention she has five gymnastics moves named after her? But Biles isn’t just an amazing athlete, she’s also an advocate, using her platform to elevate important causes including mental health and supporting victims of sexual abuse.
This is the Evolution of Simone Biles. Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. At age three, she and her three siblings were placed in foster care due to her biological mother’s battles with substance abuse. Biles and her younger sister Adria were eventually adopted by their grandfather Ron and grandmother Nellie, while their older siblings, Ashley and Tevin were adopted by their aunt. Biles credits her parents’ support with helping her become the amazing athlete she is today.
“Appreciation post for my sweet parents. Thanks for making sacrifices since day 1 so I can live out my dream. But most importantly thanks for always being there for me through all the highs and lows,” she captioned a post on Instagram in June 2021. Young Simone was introduced to gymnastics at age 6 on a school field trip to gym. A coach encouraged her parents to sign her up for classes and she hasn’t slowed down since. Although she was too young to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, Biles’ star power exploded in 2013, when the then-16-year-old won both U.S. and World Championship all-around titles. That same year, Biles had her first floor exercise move named after her – a double back layout with a half twist.
By 2016, Biles was ready for Rio, where she competed in her first Olympic Games. She did not disappoint, bringing home gold medals in the all-around, team, vault, and floor exercise competitions. Biles also won a bronze medal on the balance beam. Without a doubt, Simone Biles’ story of how she became the best in her field is incredibly inspiring. In 2016, she opened up about how she overcame the challenges of her childhood to become a world-class athlete in her autobiography, “Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance.”
In 2017, Biles took her talent to ABC’s hit “Dancing With the Stars,” where she showed off her dance moves with her professional partner Sasha Farber. Unfortunately, Biles didn’t bring home the mirrorball trophy. She and Farber finished in fourth place after being voted off the show one week before the finals. In January 2018, Simone Biles courageously joined the over 130 women, including members of the United States Women’s Gymnastics Team, who accused former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. She posted a heartfelt message on X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing that she was among Nassar’s victims. “We need to know why this was able to take place for so long and to so many of us. We need to make sure something like this never happens again,” she wrote.
