Simone Biles is a defending gymnastics champion and famous athlete. She won a Bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2021 in the women’s balance beam category. Simone Biles is a role model for many athletes in not only the USA but in the whole world. She won multiple medals in Olympics, world championship, and other competitions.
Who is Simone Biles?
Simone Biles is an American athlete and world champion. She is an artistic gymnastic who is actively participating in multiple national and international competitions since 2011. From the age of 14, Simone Arianne Biles is showcasing her talent in gymnastics. Recently, she won a Bronze for her country in the balancing beam section.
In this article, we will cover everything about Simone including her sports career and early life.
Early Life and Family of Simone Biles
Simone Biles was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1997. However, her parents didn’t play any significant role in Simone’s life. Her parents Kelvin Clemons and Shanon Biles were victims of drug addiction. So, Kelvin left the family and Shanon was unable to raise her children. Simone was the third child of the four children of Shanon Biles. They are Adria, Ashley, and Tevin. Her sister Adria Biles is also a gymnast.
As a result, Simone Biles and her sibling went to foster care. Shanon Biles’s parents Ron Biles and Nellie Cayetano Biles learned about their grandchildren’s condition. Then they took care of the children in the Houston suburb. Ron was a former air traffic controller and Neile was a nurse by profession. In 2003, they officially adopted Simone and Adria. Consequently, Shannon’s aunt Harriet adopted Ashley and Tevin.
Education
Simone shifted to homeschool at a very young age to focus on her gymnastics training. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angels in 2015 and played for them for a year. After that, in 2018 she enrolled her name in the University of the People in business administration. It is an online college where she would be the brand ambassador.
Journey to Gymnastics
When Simone was six years old, she went on a field trip where she tried gymnastics for the first time. Her instructors were impressed and suggested continuing this. After that, at the age of eight, Simone Biles started her training under Aimee Boorman. Her training programme started at Bannon’s Gymnastics.
Junior Level
At the age of 13, Simone Biles started her career in American Classic and placed third all-around. In the same year of 2011, she competed at the 2011 U.S. Classic in Chicago, Illinois.
In 2012, Simone participated in American Classic in Huntsville, Texas. There she got first in all-around along with different positions in balance beam, floor exercise, and uneven beams. Thereafter, she got a chance to compete in the 2012 USA Gymnastics National Championships. Later, she took part in the 2012 U.S. Classic in Chicago and got positions. In the same year, she again participated in the U.S. National Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. This time she was able to get medals in different gymnastics segments.
Her consecutive good performances led her name to reach the U.S. Junior National Team by a committee. It was headed by Márta Károlyi back then.
Senior Level
The road to the Olympics was not easy. There were several steps to be taken. In 2013, Simone made her debut in the American Cup, an Federation of International Gymnastics world tournament. She made her senior-level debut with Katelyn Ohashi by replacing Elizabeth Price and Kyla Ross. In addition, she got first place in Joselo, Italy. She along with the U.S. team participated in an international tri-meet in Chemnitz, Germany and won positions.
In 2013 July, Simone Biles performed poorly in the U.S. Classics and got injured. Consequently, she went to a sports psychologist for a month. Simone thanked the doctor to help with her anxiety issues.
In August, she came back with her dominance in gymnastics. Several medals including national all-around champion, World Artistic Gymnastics Championship (Belgium) came. This is to say that just at the age of 16, Biles became the seventh American woman and the first African-American who won the world all-around title.
However, her 2014 season started with a shoulder injury. She returned in her form by taking first place with Kyle Ross in the U.S, Classic in Chicago. Then, she defended her title of World Champion in China. Her session for 205 also went well. Several records were made and Simone became a pro in artistic gymnastics.
Consequently, she got the title of Sportswoman of the Year in 2014 and came in the top list of 25 in ESPNW’s list. In 2015, Simone became the Team USA Female Olympic Athlete.
World Championship and Olympics Achievement
Firstly, in the 2016 Pacific Rim Championship, Simone Biles received gold all-around. Then, on 10th July she received the ticket to Rio Olympics 2016. On August 9, Simone Biles won her first Olympic gold medal in the gymnastics team event. In total, she won four gold medals and a bronze medal.
In 2017, she was busy with her writing and dance competition. From August, she started training again. Then in 2018, she participated in World Championship in Doha. Simone suffered from stomach pain the night before the qualification round. But she managed to qualify in the competition. As a result, she got four gold, one silver, and a bronze medal.
In 2019, Simone Biles performed her best again. She received five gold medals in the 2019 Stuttgart World Championship. She made a record again.
In the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo, Simone Biles qualified for the final round. She posted in her Instagram account that she is feeling the pressure of the whole world on her shoulders. She got a bronze medal in the balance-beam section and a silver medal in the team. On 28t July 2021, she withdrew her name from finals to focus on her mental health. She stated that when someone is not happy mentally, cannot give 100% in sports. Her team and the whole country supports her decision.
End Note
Simone Biles is an inspiration to many. This is to say, Simone Biles is an inspiration to many. She has 6.8 million followers on her Instagram account. In 2017, she wrote a book or a lifetime biopic named Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance with journalist Michelle Burford. This was The New York Times bestsellers Young Adult list in the week of January 8, 2017.