From being a role model to many different women gymnasts and little girls of color in gymnastics as well, Simone Biles has broken world records and defeated many obstacles in her way. She is the Most decorated U.S. women's gymnast ever with 32 World/Olympic medals as well was also one of the smallest woman gymnasts to enter the Olympics.
When Simone was six years old, she and her little sister Adria were adopted by their maternal grandfather, an Air Force veteran, and her older sister Ashley Biles-Thomas was adopted by her great aunt. Her birth mother struggled with addiction and couldn't take care of her and her sisters. One day while Simone was in daycare, she took a field trip to a gym. There is where her love for gymnastics started, she saw older girls doing their routines and began to train than, right away. She started to teach herself how to flip by doing backflips off mailboxes.
Simone has many achievements, she has broken history and has had many moves named after her, but in 2020 she became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike at the GIK US Classic in May 2021. And in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 she won four gold medals and one bronze. She also has six national all-around titles and a record of 25 world championship medals, 19 of them being gold.
Biles has had to fight through the mental stress and heavy pressure of having to be perfect on the stage of the Olympics. Also, being a woman in the gymnastics world puts lots of pressure on Biles. She entered the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, but sadly she ended up dropping out early in the game because she was having too much stress. She confidently said that it was the best decision she ever made. In an interview with NBC sports, she said that “put your mental health first” and that “that's more important than any other metal you can win”. A month after the Rio Olympics a hacker released her confidential medical records. She then went onto Twitter to speak about her ADHD, she wrote “having ADHD, and taking medicine for it is nothing to be ashamed of nothing that I’m afraid to let people know”.
Simone Biles has spoken up about many different issues and protests. As well as incurring the future generation of women to always go for their goal and never give up.
Posted By: Laydie Fluent
IG @ Laydie_Fluent_1985
Written by: Angelina Portes
BFE Spring 2022 Intern
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