Top 10 Times Simone Biles Went Superhuman

After her performance in the trials, Biles officially booked her place at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. With that achievement, she’s set to be the oldest United States gymnast since 1952 at the ancient age of 27. The oldest national competitor back then was 35-year-old Marie Hoesly. If Biles manages to take a top position, she’ll become the most senior Olympic gold medalist in US history. If she wants to be the oldest in Olympic history to get gold, the iconic gymnast will have to defeat Oscar Swahn, who was 64 in 1912. On top of that, if Biles were to take one more medal in Paris, she’d move above Shannon Miller to become the most successful US Olympic gymnast with 8 medals.

After taking a medal haul at the 2016 Olympics, Biles took a break from the rigors of competitive gymnastics. Instead, she co-wrote her autobiography, “Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance.” In 2017, the Ohio-born athlete then signed up for season 24 of “Dancing with the Stars.” Teaming with professional Sasha Farber, they were immediately one of the favorites to win. And they didn’t disappoint as the duo was a big success, scoring consistently high from the judges. As such, it was shocking that they were eliminated in the semi-final, finishing 4th, especially as they had two perfect scores from their jive and rumba. Justice for Biles and Farber!

In 2016, shortly after the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Russian hackers released the medical records of the athletes. The information showed that Biles had tested positive for methylphenidate, AKA Ritalin. While this is usually a banned substance, the Therapeutic Use Exemptions allow athletes to take it if they have a medical condition. Sadly, Biles was unable to make this announcement in her own time. Instead, she was forced to disclose her ADHD diagnosis publicly. On social media, the star gymnast was defiant by saying having the disorder or taking medicine for it was nothing to be ashamed of, and that she’s not afraid of people knowing her condition.

When you reach the pinnacle of your sport, you’re able to have moves that you created named after you, such as Johan Cruyff creating the Cruyff Turn. Biles is no exception to this as she has developed several gymnastic elements, many of which are ridiculously difficult. In 2018, she landed a Biles on the vault at the World Championships. Having developed it in 2021, Biles upgraded the element into the Biles II, a Yurchenko double pike vault at the 2023 World Championships. She became the first woman in history to land this astonishing maneuver. The gymnast also has elements named after her in the balance beam and floor exercise. The latter involved the Biles II, which was given the highest difficulty rating of J.

While she has all the success today, Biles’s early life was vastly different. Born in 1997, her mother was unable to look after Biles and her 3 siblings due to substance issues. As such, the kids spent some time in foster care and some time out of it. By 2000, after discovering what had happened to the children, their grandparents took them in. Eventually, they adopted Biles and her younger sister, while the other siblings were adopted by their grandfather’s sister. With that upbringing, Biles has been working with the non-profit organization Friends of the Children to share her experience. The group helps ambitious kids who face systemic obstacles by teaming them with a mentor to support them on their journey.

Biles is a record-breaking machine. One of her best was at the 2019 World Championships. On top of collecting 5 golds, her medal collection in the competition was increased to a whopping 25. That’s the highest number of prizes for any athlete, male or female, at Worlds! She defeated Vitaly Scherbo, who had held 23 since 1996. Yet before this astonishing success at Worlds, Biles broke another record at the competition in 2015. She took the top prize in the all-around final, becoming the first woman to win it three times in a row. That same year, Biles was the first woman in 23 years to win 3 consecutive all-around titles at the US National Championships, too!

No highlights of an Olympic athlete would be complete without them reaching a milestone by claiming their first gold. However, Biles broke the mold by not only achieving this, but it was also the top prize. At the 2016 Olympics, as part of the US women’s team nicknamed the "Final Five," the group destroyed the competition to claim gold in the women's artistic team all-around. But Biles wasn’t done. She followed this 2 days later with her first solo gold in the women's artistic individual all-around. This rapid ascent has seen her collect 4 golds, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the Olympics so far.

From the outside, athletes seem infallible, able to pull off seemingly superhuman feats. Yet, underneath all that skill, we often forget they’re human. At the 2020 Olympics, which were performed in 2021 due to the pandemic, Biles withdrew during the US's silver-winning women's artistic team all-around event. She stated she made the decision due to struggles with her mental health, the pressure of competing at the Olympics, and experiencing “the twisties,” also known as the yips. After withdrawing from several other events, Biles did compete in the balance beam, getting a bronze, which meant the world to her since she lost her aunt 2 days before. The sporting world was filled with praise for Biles for putting a spotlight on athletes’ mental health.

For 18 years, Larry Nassar was the team doctor for the United States women's national gymnastics team. During that time, he abused his power to assault hundreds of athletes in his care. From 2017 to 2018, Nassar was sentenced for his various heinous crimes in several court cases, essentially being sent to jail for the rest of his life. In 2018, Biles courageously spoke publicly about her experience of being assaulted by Nassar. In 2021, she testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she criticized the system as well as the USA Gymnastics and the Olympic and Paralympic Committee for allowing Nassar to get away with his crimes for so long.

In 2023, Biles proved to the world why she’s in the running to be considered one of the greatest gymnasts to ever grace the sport professionally. At the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won the top prize in the individual all-around. With that, she became the most decorated gymnast in history with 34 medals in Worlds and Olympics altogether, beating another Vitaly Scherbo record that had stood since 1996. But Biles didn’t finish there. She added an additional 3 golds at the same event, taking her outstanding medal collection to 37! At the time of writing, on top of her 7 Olympic medals, Biles has won 23 golds, 4 silvers, and 3 bronzes at Worlds!

Which other Olympians do you want us to give a similar spotlight to? Michael Phelps? Allyson Felix? Katie Ledecky? Jim Thorpe? Or someone else? Let us know below!