Simone Biles had returned to the Olympic Games in the best way possible. On her first day of competition she performed the first triple flip in gymnastics history. Having overcome the mental health problems she suffered at the Tokyo Games, three years later the American is ready to add new medals to the seven that she has already won, four of them gold.
Her first steps
But let’s go back to its origins when it wasn’t all about success and medals. Simone Biles was born on 14 March 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. Her parents were addicts, so she was adopted by her grandparents —along with her siblings— who acted as parents to her. It was at the age of six when she became interested in gymnastics and the rest is history.
Simone accumulated 37 medals between world championships and olympics, debuting in Rio 2016 in which she won four gold medals at just 19 years old. That is amazing!
In January 2018, she claimed to have been sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, along with hundreds of other gymnasts. This was a major setback for her and something she struggled with for many years, and as we later saw, it took a toll on her mental health.
‘I have won 25 medals at World Championships, seven at the Olympic Games, and I am a survivor of sexual abuse’.
This is how gymnast Simone Biles introduced herself to a US Senate committee investigating the FBI’s alleged mismanagement of the biggest sports scandal of the century.
Larry Nassar at his 58 years, is currently serving life in prison after being convicted in 2017 and 2018 of sexual assaults on more than 250 gymnasts (most were minors), committed at the gymnastics federation, Michigan State University.
Also read: pain points
Her retirement
All this somehow affected her and, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Biles announced her exit from participation during the artistic gymnastics team final, claiming mental health problems. Her very hard trajectory mixed with the demands and the stress to which elite sportswomen are subjected took its toll. When she announced her retirement, the social networks turned to the athlete and figures such as Michelle Obama, Justin Bieber and Janet Jackson offered her help and encouragement through their social media channels.
Biles was out of competition for two years after the Tokyo Games due to twisties, a psychological problem that prevented her from controlling her body in her aerial performances. This increases the possibility of serious or critical injury if the gymnast forgets in the moment how to land the exercise safely.
Her debut in Paris 2024
She returned to competition in August 2023 with a victory at the US Classic in Chicago, the start of her preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
She has been in a relationship with American football player Jonathan Owens since August 2020. On February 14, 2022 they announced their engagement through their social networks and one year later they got married. Her partner has been a great support in these two difficult years and on her social media platforms she shares a lot of content with him.
Since the start of the Olympics last Friday, 26 July, Simone Biles has surprised us all with her debut and we will be keeping a close eye on how she evolves.
Also read: types of social media
