Biles, Simone

Impact on the world

Holds 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals, the most of any gymnast in history, and is the originator of multiple skills so difficult that she remains the only gymnast to have ever attempted them in competition; she also became a leading advocate for athlete mental health after withdrawing from several events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Life & background

Biles became the first African American to win the World Championship all-around title and the first woman to win three consecutive world all-around titles, going on to become the most decorated gymnast in history with 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals. She is the originator of the most difficult skills ever performed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, skills now named after her that no other gymnast has attempted. After publicly disclosing she was a survivor of sexual abuse by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, she withdrew from several events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics citing mental health concerns, sparking a broader conversation in elite sports, before returning to win additional Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games. President Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.

Sources

1. Olympics.com (IOC); Team USA; Encyclopædia Britannica