The reasons behind Simone Biles’ status as one of history’s best athletes: A preview of the Olympic Games in Paris
“And she wears a smile while doing it.”
Who is competing to go to the Olympics in Paris with Simone Biles?
The American women competed throughout night.
With good cause, many people view American gymnast Simone Biles as the greatest of all time, or the G.O.A.T.
“I’m not the next Michael Phelps or Usain Bolt. At the 2016 Olympics, she told reporters, “I’m the first Simone Biles.”
Here is a look back at Biles’ incredible gymnastics career to date as she prepares to compete in her third Olympic Games in Paris, France, this year.
The most decorated gymnast in history
Following the 2012 Olympics, which Biles was too young to compete in, she started to gain notoriety.
When she participated in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships for the first time in 2013, at the age of 16, she won four medals, including two gold.
She took home four golds and one silver at the competition in 2014. She won four more gold medals and one bronze in 2015. She took home four gold, one silver, and one bronze in 2018. She took home five gold medals in 2019. She took home four gold and one silver in 2023.
The Unev… is where Simone Biles competes.Display more
Kerem Yucel/Getty Images via AFP
She has won 30 global titles in total, including 23 gold medals, according to the official Olympic website.
2016 saw Biles compete in her first Olympics, where she took home four gold and one bronze. She took home two silver and one bronze from Tokyo before withdrawing from the competition to concentrate on her physical and emotional well-being.
According to the Olympics, Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, regardless of gender. She has won 37 medals total—37 world and Olympic.
Now that she has five signature moves named after her, Biles may do them in three distinct events: vault, balance beam, and floor.
Dominique Dawes, an 18-year gymnastics veteran and three-time Olympian, said, “Many people aren’t even attempting to do them because there’s such high difficulty high risk manoeuvres, and she accomplishes them with total ease and effort.” “Watching her work is incredible. And she smiles as she completes the task.”
Gymnasts must provide a video of themselves executing the feat to the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique Women’s Technical Committee in order for a move to be named after an athlete.
The skill’s difficulty is determined by the committee, and if it is deemed sufficiently challenging, it can be called.
A gymnast is then required to execute the manoeuvre at an international competition with “a severe mistake” free.
The “Biles on the floor” is a double layout with a half-twist, meaning that Biles’s body stays straight and extended as she flips twice. Biles first executed the move successfully on the international stage at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2013.
“Biles II,” her second floor signature technique, was first performed flawlessly on a global platform in 2019. Biles executes a triple-double for this manoeuvre, which involves two flips and three twists before landing on the ground.
The Biles vault is a round-off that transitions into a back handspring with a half turn before somersaulting twice to finish the move. With a difficulty level of 6.4, it’s among the hardest vaults in women’s artistic gymnastics.
The most recent manoeuvre named after the athlete is Biles II on the vault. She made history in 2023 when she successfully executed the Yurchenko double pike, which calls for a backflip off the vault and two complete pike revolutions before landing.
2019 saw the completion of the Biles on the balancing beam, which includes a double-double dismount off the beam consisting of two flips and two twists.
Simone Biles responds to being single.
Reuters via Matt Krohn
Dawes competed in gymnastics back when the system of scoring was still in place, and the goal was always a “perfect 10.” Gymnasts are now evaluated using two metrics: the open-ended difficulty scoring system, which allows them to freely accrue points, and the perfect ten for execution.
According to Dawes, there was “no reason to push yourself beyond that value” when using the previous scoring system. For athletes like Biles, the “sky is the limit” these days.
“Simone is truly up against herself.” stated Dawes. That’s actually what elevates her to the status of one of history’s greatest… They used to cap our scores back then. For gifted athletes like Simone, the possibilities are endless with this new scoring system. Therefore, she will truly receive credit for any more advanced or challenging manoeuvres she performs on any of the many pieces of equipment.”
After a startling crash on the vault, Simone Biles decided to put her mental and physical well-being first and withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics before competing in the individual all-around and the team final.
“We are fully behind Simone’s choice and proud of her courage in putting her health first. Her bravery demonstrates once more why she is so many people’s role model, USA Gymnastics stated in a statement on Wednesday.
Her departure brought attention to the mental health of professional athletes who are under constant strain in front of the world. Later on, she talked about how her battle to get over her sexual abuse at the hands of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar had a direct impact on her exit.
As a result of the Nassar abuse, Biles has also been vocal about her experience with depression and the need 
anxiety medicine.
Simone Biles is a competitor in the Women’s…Display more
Griffiths, Lauren
At a 2021 Congressional hearing, Biles stated, “As a recent Tokyo Games competitor who was a survivor of this atrocity, I can guarantee you the repercussions of this man’s abuse are not over or ever forgotten.” “When the Tokyo Games were announced to be delayed for a year in the spring of 2020, I knew that for an additional year I would be living surrounded by reminders of this narrative every day, going to the gym, training, and therapy.”
Biles was predicted to win an unprecedented six gold medals in the women’s gymnastics finals at the Tokyo Olympics after qualifying for all six of them. The aim was to make history by being the first female all-around champion since 1968.
After the team final on Tuesday, Biles said at a press conference, “I just never felt like this coming into a competition before.” “I came here with the intention of having fun, and while my back warm-up went a little better, I realised right away that my mental state was lacking.”
At the moment, Biles told reporters, “This Olympic Games has been incredibly difficult, just overall.” We’ve had a demanding week. The Olympic process has taken a long time. The year has not been easy.”
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