Simone Biles
Simone Arianne Biles Owens (born Simone Arianne Biles; March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. The most decorated American gymnast in history, she is widely considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. Her seven Olympic gymnastics medals are ninth-most of all time and tied with Shannon Miller for the most by a U.S. gymnast.
| Simone Biles Owens | |
|---|---|
Biles at the 2016 Summer Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Simone Arianne Biles Owens |
| Born | March 14, 1997 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Hometown | Spring, Texas, U.S. |
| Residence | Spring, Texas, U.S. |
| Spouse | |
| Height | 4 ft 8 in (142 cm) |
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics |
| Level | Senior international elite |
| Years on national team | 2012–2016 2018–2021 2023–present (USA) |
| Gym | World Champions Centre (2015–present) Bannon's Gymnastix Inc. (2003–2014) |
| Head coach(es) | Laurent Landi Cecile Canqueteau-Landi |
| Former coach(es) | Aimee Boorman |
| Choreographer | Sasha Farber |
| Eponymous skills | Biles (6.0) (vault): Yurchenko half on–straight front salto double twist off Biles II (6.4) (vault): Yurchenko double pike Biles (H) (balance beam): double-twisting double tucked salto dismount Biles (G) (floor exercise): double layout salto half out Biles II (J) (floor exercise): triple-twisting double tucked salto (aka "triple double") |
Medal record | |
At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Biles won individual gold medals in the all-around, vault, and floor; bronze on balance beam; and gold as part of the United States team, dubbed the "Final Five". At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she was favored to win at least four of the six available gold medals, she withdrew from most of the competition due to "the twisties", a temporary loss of air awareness while performing twisting elements. She won a silver medal with her team and a bronze medal on the balance beam.
Biles is a six-time World all-around champion (2013–2015, 2018–2019, 2023), six-time World floor exercise champion (2013–2015, 2018–2019, 2023), four-time World balance beam champion (2014–2015, 2019, 2023), two-time World vault champion (2018–2019), an eight-time United States national all-around champion (2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021, 2023), and a member of the gold medal-winning American teams at the 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She is also a four-time World silver medalist (2013–2014 and 2023 on vault, 2018 on uneven bars) and a four-time World bronze medalist (2015 on vault, 2013 and 2018 on balance beam).
In 2019, Biles broke the record for most World Championship medals in gymnastics; she won her 24th and 25th medals at the event, surpassing Vitaly Scherbo's 23 World medals. Biles has since secured an additional five World medals, for a total of 30. She holds the record for World all-around titles (6), and is the sixth woman to win an individual all-around title at both the World Championships and the Olympics, the first since Lilia Podkopayeva in 1996 to hold both titles simultaneously. Biles is the tenth female gymnast and first American female gymnast to win a World medal on every event, and the first female gymnast since Daniela Silivaș in 1988 to win a medal on every event at a single Olympic Games or World Championships.
In 2022, Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2023, she won her eighth U.S. Gymnastics title, breaking the 90-year-old U.S. Gymnastics title record previously held by Alfred Jochim.