Simone Biles

BORN: MARCH 14, 1997, COLUMBUS, OH

I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.

Simone Biles stepped onto the floor mat and started running, and in seconds, this petite, powerful athlete was tumbling in the air, defying gravity. Sticking the dismount, Simone flashed a brilliant smile and waved to the adoring crowd.

Simone is a five-time Olympic medalist gymnast whose phenomenal artistry and athleticism have won her accolades across the globe. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Simone won four gold medals with stunning performances in the team, all-around, vault, and floor competitions, and a bronze medal for beam. With a total of nineteen medals at the Olympics and world championships, Simone is the most decorated gymnast in United States history.

Her remarkable gymnastics journey began on a field trip to a gym in Houston. Only two years earlier, she had been in and out of foster care in Columbus, Ohio, because her birth mother, who struggled with addiction, was unable to care for her and her siblings. Simone and her sister were adopted by her grandfather Ron and his wife, Nellie Biles, who signed her up for gymnastics classes near their Texas home. Simone’s talent and fearlessness were immediately apparent.

She began to seriously train for the sport at age eight, and in 2011 started competing locally, nationally, and internationally. To increase her rigorous physical training from twenty to thirty-two hours a week, Simone was homeschooled during her high school years.

From 2012 through 2016, Simone intensified her skills—even developing two now named in her honor—and participated in the largest national and international competitions, including the American Cup, world championships, Olympic trials, and finally the 2016 Olympic Games. Her accomplishments were unparalleled, and she became the one to beat, remaining undefeated in the all-around competition since 2013. At the Rio Games, Team USA chose Simone to carry the flag in the closing ceremonies.

Simone took a hiatus from competition in 2017. She had a stint on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and collaborated on the television film The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar. But in 2018, Simone returned to the arena and the US National Team.