Not only did Team USA win gold in the 2024 Olympic gymnastics final, but Simone Biles made history by becoming the most decorated Olympian in U.S. gymnastics history.
The 27-year-old athlete has been a part of the Olympic Games since her debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where she skyrocketed to fame by taking home the gold at just 19 years old. Simone’s title as the ‘greatest gymnast of all time’ is well-earned. Over her career, she has accumulated five gold medals, one silver, and two bronze, making a total of eight Olympic medals.
Despite facing a leg injury during the 2024 games, Simone did not let that stop her from leading her team to victory, marking their team as the fourth-ever USA women’s gymnastics team to earn gold. This triumph comes as part of her comeback story after withdrawing from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to suffering from the ‘twisties.’
The All-Star champion has had to overcome her own challenges and now reigns as the greatest gymnast of all time. The three-time Olympian even has signature moves named after her: The Biles (floor, vault, beam) and The Biles II (floor and vault).
According to ABC News, former Olympian Dominique Dawes commented on the difficulty of Simone’s moves, “Many people aren’t even attempting to do them because they’re such high difficulty, high risk maneuvers, and she does them with complete ease and effort… It’s amazing to watch what she’s doing. And she does it with a smile on her face.”
Dawes further expressed, “It really is Simone versus herself… That’s really what makes her one of the greatest of all time… Back then they used to cap our scores. And so now with this new scoring system, the sky is the limit for athletes like Simone, who’s very talented. And so if she does a higher, difficult maneuver on any of the different pieces of apparatus, she’ll actually get credit for it.”
Through all the physical challenges she has faced, from injuries to the ‘twisties,’ nothing has stopped Simone from excelling in her career. As she stated during the 2024 Olympics, “I don’t focus on stats, I focus on routines and going out there competing and seeing how comfortable and confident I feel.”