Simone Biles

2016 Rio de Janeiro Games

Biles, who was too young to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics, was a favourite entering the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She lived up to expectations, first leading the United States to gold in the team event and then winning the individual all-around. She also won the floor and vault events, becoming the fifth female gymnast to claim four gold medals at a single Olympics. Biles also captured a bronze in the balance beam to bring her medal total to five.

Biles subsequently took a break from gymnastics, and in 2018 she announced that she had been a victim of Larry Nassar, a former doctor for the U.S. national gymnastics team who was convicted of sexually abusing numerous athletes. That year Biles returned to competition. At the 2018 U.S. national championships, she became the first female gymnast in nearly 25 years to win all five events, including a record-setting fifth all-around title. Biles became the most-decorated female gymnast in world championships history when she won four golds (including another all-around title), one silver, and one bronze at the 2018 championships to bring her career total at that competition to 20 medals.

Biles continued to make history in 2019. At that year’s world championship she became the first gymnast in more than six decades to win five gold medals, including one in the all-around event. She also debuted a new, incredibly difficult move on the balance beam—a double twisting, double backflip dismount—which she successfully executed. It was later named the Biles, becoming one of several moves that she introduced in the sport. In addition, she bypassed Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus to become the gymnast with the most world championship medals (25). Also in 2019 she won five medals at the U.S. national championships, four of which were gold.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no major events were held in 2020. The break, however, had little effect on Biles. At the 2021 U.S. Classic she became the first female gymnast to land the sport’s most difficult vault, the Yurchenko double pike, during a competition. Later that year she competed at the U.S. national championships, where she captured her seventh all-around title. She also won three other gold medals and one bronze.

2020 Tokyo Games and later activities

There were high expectations for Biles as she entered the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were delayed until 2021. However, she withdrew from most events due to “the twisties,” a mental block in which gymnasts lose their spatial orientation during aerial moves. Her decision not to compete sparked discussions about the pressure placed on athletes and their mental health concerns. Biles did return for the final event, the balance beam, and she won a bronze medal.

Biles subsequently took a break from gymnastics, but she returned in 2023 and quickly reasserted herself as a dominating force in gymnastics. That year she competed at the U.S. national championships, where she won a record-setting eighth all-around title. She also captured gold medals in the balance beam and floor exercise and claimed a silver in the vault. These wins raised her total number of U.S. titles to an unprecedented 27. Later in 2023 Biles competed at the world championships, where she continued to add to her medal count, bringing her total to 30. She claimed gold medals in four events: team, all-around, floor exercise, and balance beam. In addition, she won a silver in the vault.