Simone Biles Owens, the American artistic gymnast, has clinched seven Olympic medals, a record, tying her with Shannon Miller for the highest number of Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. This achievement also places her at the ninth position in the overall list of most Olympic medals earned.
Bio/Wiki
Age- 26 years
Height- 1.42 m
Weight- 47 kg
Born- 14 March 1997
Birthplace-Columbus, Ohio, United States
Spouse-Jonathan Owens (m. 2023)
Teammates- Aly Raisman, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Laurie Hernandez, Grace McCallum, Madison Kocian, Gabrielle Douglas
Profession-American artistic gymnast
Nationality-American
Family
Born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio, Simone Biles is the third of four siblings. Her birth mother, Shanon Biles, faced challenges in caring for her children, leading them in and out of foster care. In 2000, Simone and her siblings found stability when her maternal grandfather, Ron Biles, and his wife Nellie, took them in Spring, Texas. In 2003, Ron and Nellie officially adopted Simone and her younger sister Adria. Simone holds Belizean citizenship through her adoptive mother and considers Belize her second home. The Biles family practices Catholicism.
Husband
Biles dated fellow gymnast Stacey Ervin Jr from August 2017 to March 2020. Since August 2020, she has been in a relationship with professional American football player Jonathan Owens. Biles announced their engagement on February 15, 2022, and they tied the knot on April 22, 2023.
Education
Biles initially attended Benfer Elementary School in Harris County, Texas. In 2012, she transitioned from public school to homeschooling, enabling her to dedicate more time to training, increasing from 20 to 32 hours per week. She completed her high-school education by mid-2015. On August 4, 2014, Biles verbally committed to UCLA.
Career
At the age of 6, Biles initially explored gymnastics during a day-care field trip. Encouraged by instructors, she joined Bannon’s Gymnastics and later entered an optional training program. Under the guidance of coach Aimee Boorman, she commenced her serious training at the age of eight.
Biles earned her spot in the 2012 USA Gymnastics National Championships after her performance at the American Classic. She continued her success at the 2012 U.S. Classic in Chicago, securing first place all-around and on vault, second on floor exercise, and sixth on balance beam. Later, at the U.S. National Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, she finished third all-around, first on vault, and sixth on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. Biles made her senior international debut in March 2013 at the 2013 American Cup, a FIG World Cup event. However, she faced setbacks in the 2014 season, missing the 2014 AT&T American Cup and the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships due to injury. Despite this, she returned strongly at the U.S. Classic in Chicago, dominating the all-around competition and securing first place on vault, beam (tied with Ross), and floor.
At the 2015 AT&T American Cup held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on March 7, Biles competed and emerged victorious with a score of 62.299. This impressive performance put her 4.467 points ahead of her U.S. teammate MyKayla Skinner, who finished in second place.
In the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Biles made history by winning individual gold medals in all-around, vault, and floor, along with a bronze on balance beam. She also contributed to the United States team’s gold medal, known as the “Final Five.” However, at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, she withdrew from most events due to challenges with “the twisties,” earning a silver medal with the US team and a bronze on the balance beam. Her focus on safety, mental health, and resilience drew widespread praise.
Biles boasts an impressive list of accomplishments, including five World all-around titles, five World floor exercise titles, three World balance beam titles, and two World vault titles. She is an eight-time United States national all-around champion and part of the gold medal-winning American teams at the 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. With 25 World medals, including 19 gold, she surpassed the previous record held by Vitaly Scherbo. Biles is the sixth woman ever to win individual all-around titles at both the World Championships and the Olympics, achieving this feat simultaneously, a rare accomplishment matched only by Lilia Podkopayeva in 1996. Additionally, she became the first female gymnast since Daniela Silivaș in 1988 to win a medal in every event at a single Olympic Games or World Championships, achieved at the 2018 World Championships in Doha. In 2023, she secured her eighth U.S. Gymnastics title, breaking a 90-year-old record previously held by Alfred Jochim.
Assaulted by Larry Nassar
On January 18, 2018, Biles took to Twitter, confirming that she was sexually assaulted by former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar. She accused USA Gymnastics of permitting the abuse and later concealing it. During the court hearings from January 16 to 24, 2018, she chose not to attend, stating that she was not emotionally prepared to face Larry Nassar again.
Achievement/Awards
- 2015 Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year (Fourth gymnast to win the honor)
- 2016 Glamour Award for the Record Breaker
- 2016 BBC’s 100 Women
- 2016 ESPNW’s Impact 25 and Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation
- 2016 Finalist for Time’s Person of the Year
- 2016 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year (Third gymnast after Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci)
- 2017 ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete (Second gymnast after Nastia Liukin in 2009)
- 2017Shorty Award for Best in Sports
- 2017 Teen Choice Award for Favorite Female Athlete
- 2017 Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year
- 2017 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
- 2018Inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame
- 2018 Arthur Ashe Courage Award (Shared with other survivors)
- 2018 ESPN The Magazine’s Most Dominant Athlete of the Year
- 2019 Laureus’ Sportswoman of the Year (Second time)
- 2019 People’s Choice Award for The Game Changer of 2019
- 2020 Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year (Third time)
- 2021 Time 100 – One of the 100 most influential people in the world
- 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom (Youngest recipient, along with Megan Rapinoe)
Net Worth 2023
As of 2023, she has an estimated net worth of approximately $16 million.
Latest News about Simone Biles
Simone Biles Makes Olympic History in Gymnastics
During her comeback in international gymnastics, Simone Biles made history by executing one of the most demanding vaults in the sport. At the World Artistic Gymnastic Championships in Belgium, the four-time Olympic gold medalist accomplished the feat of becoming the first woman to successfully perform a Yurchenko double pike vault on the international stage. In the video, the 26-year-old is seen sprinting down the runway, performing a round-off onto a springboard, executing a back handspring onto the vaulting table, and concluding with two double flips. Her flawless landing prompted the crowd to respond with enthusiastic applause.
And there’s a reason it hasn’t been done before. Her coach, Laurent Landi, said on “60 Minutes” in 2021 that’s a “very, very challenging” move.
“What’s scary, people can get hurt,” Landi said. “You do a short landing, it can hurt your ankles. It’s a very dangerous vault.”
“She’s opened her eyes to everybody that this can be done when I think a lot of the people believed that a female could not do it,” Landi’s wife, Cécile, told 60 Minutes.
Her appearance at the world championships marked her sixth participation, a remarkable achievement stated by USA Gymnastics. This event followed her historic win of the eighth U.S. Gymnastics title a month prior. Despite being in the midst of a comeback after a nearly two-year hiatus, Biles has not confirmed her participation in the Paris Olympics next year.
Dazzling Comeback Secures Simone Biles Third AP Female Athlete of the Year Title
There were undoubtedly nerves, given the circumstances. With everything that transpired, it was only natural.
As Simone Biles stepped onto the floor of a suburban Chicago arena in late July for her initial gymnastics competition in two years, the curiosity surrounding how it would unfold was palpable.
“I thought that too, don’t worry,” Biles said with a laugh.
Upon completing the first rotation, the gymnastics legend recognized she had returned to her comfort zone. And by the conclusion of August, she had reclaimed her status as a national champion. Once again, by October, she stood as a world champion. And come December, she once again secured The Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year title.
Yes, for the third time.
Her triumphant comeback, highlighted by her record eighth U.S. national championship and a sixth world all-around gold, elevated Biles to the esteemed position of the sixth woman to clinch the AP honor thrice. The 26-year-old, a seven-time Olympic medalist, led the voting, surpassing Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark and Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati of the World Cup champion Spanish soccer team, as determined by a panel of sports media professionals.
And to think, she wasn’t quite certain about what awaited her on that summer night in front of a packed arena that supported her at every twist and turn—an overwhelming response she hadn’t anticipated. Hard to blame her.
The last time Biles acknowledged the judges was at the end of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she earned a bronze medal on the balance beam. It marked the conclusion of a tumultuous two weeks, during which her decision to withdraw from multiple finals due to “the twisties” (a kind of mid-air vertigo) thrust the often-uncomfortable conversation about athletes and their mental health into the intense spotlight uniquely provided by the Games.
