Simone Biles: What to know about US Olympic gold medal gymnast
Over the past decade, Simone Biles has gone from gymnastics wunderkind to Olympic gold medalist to U.S. sports icon.
And this summer, she's back in the spotlight, looking to add to her Olympic medal haul with a strong performance at the 2024 Paris Games.
Here's everything you need to know about Biles.
Is Simone Biles competing tonight?
Yes! Biles will be in the second session of competition Sunday at the U.S. championships in Fort Worth, Texas. She'll be trying to win her record ninth national title.
How to watch Simone Biles at national championships
Sunday's session will go from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET and be shown both on Peacock and NBC.
Will Simone Biles compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics? Has she qualified?
Technically speaking, Biles has not yet been named to Team USA for the Paris Olympics. But based on her track record and the subjectivity within the selection process, she will almost certainly be there — and she'll be favored to win another all-around gold medal.
Where does Simone Biles train?
Biles trains at the World Champions Centre, a facility in the Houston suburbs that her family opened after the Rio Olympics. Her parents, Ron and Nellie Biles, still own the gym.
Who is Simone Biles' coach?
Biles has two coaches: Cecile and Laurent Landi, who have led the elite team at WCC since 2017. Biles has a particularly close relationship with Cecile Landi, who represented France at the 1996 Olympics and is set to take over as co-head coach of the University of Georgia's gymnastics program following the Paris Games.
Who is Simone Biles' husband?
Biles is married to NFL player Jonathan Owens, who is currently a safety for the Chicago Bears. They celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary earlier this year.
What gymnastics moves are named after Simone Biles?
In the International Gymnastics Federation's current code of points, there are five: Two each on floor exercise and vault, and one on balance beam. Biles' got her latest skill, the Biles II on vault, after she landed the Yurchenko double pike vault at last fall's world championships. (Skills in gymnastics are named after the first person to land them in a major international event.)
Are there Simone Biles scoring restrictions?
In a way, yes. The international federation's technical committee has previously undervalued some of the skills that Biles has landed in competition, explaining that they could be too dangerous for other gymnasts to attempt.
"In assigning values to the new elements, the (technical committee) takes into consideration many different aspects; the risk, the safety of the gymnasts and the technical direction of the discipline," the committee said in a statement about one of Biles' skills in 2019.
Biles' supporters have argued that such undervaluing punishes Biles for safely completing skills that few other gymnasts can do.
Simone Biles vault: What’s her best ever vault?
When you think of the best, her Yurchenko double pike, now known as the Biles II, at last year’s national championships immediately comes to mind. It was massive and she landed it without even a wiggle or wobble. Her feet were slightly apart, but the judges gave it a well-deserved 9.8 execution score, which is almost unheard of for a vault.
But you’ve also got to give it up for the Amanar that Biles did on the first day of the 2015 national championships. She got so much height people in the first few rows had to look up at her and she drilled the landing.
How many Olympics has Simone Biles been in?
Biles has competed in two editions of the Summer Olympics: The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2021 Games in Tokyo. However, she only competed in some of her scheduled events in 2021 after experiencing a case of the "twisties," which caused her to lose track of where she was in the air, jeopardizing her physical safety.
How many Olympic gold medals does Simone Biles have?
Biles has won four Olympic gold medals, all of them at the 2016 Rio Games. She led the "Final Five" to team gold, claimed the individual all-around gold and won two of the four individual events: Floor exercise and vault. She has also won a silver medal (in the 2021 team competition) and two Olympic bronzes on balance beam in 2016 and 2021.
How many world titles has Simone Biles won?
Altogether, Biles has won a record 23 gold medals at world championships across team and individual competition. Among them are six individual all-around world titles, five team championships and 12 world titles in apparatus finals — including six in floor exercise.
Why is Simone Biles called the GOAT?
In short: See above. Biles has been dubbed the GOAT (or Greatest of All Time) in gymnastics for her consistency, longevity and, perhaps most importantly, for her ability to push the boundaries in her sport.
No gymnast has won more world championship medals than Biles, who has racked up 30 in total, and no American gymnast has won more Olympic medals than her seven. (She is currently tied with Shannon Miller for the largest Olympic medal haul by an American.) Her 37 medals at the world championships and Olympics are also the most by any gymnast, male or female.
How Simone Biles' GOAT leotard became a thing
As a not-so-subtle nod to her GOAT status, Biles has twice worn a leotard with the figure of a goat's head outlined in rhinestones on her back. She first wore it during podium training ahead of the 2019 national championships, then again at the 2021 U.S. Classic, in the leadup to the Tokyo Games.
"There should be times where we can celebrate whenever we do a good routine. Or if you’ve been on a winning streak for a year. Or so forth," Biles said in 2019. "I think it’s something you should have pride in. Not be cocky about it, but have pride in it."
When does Simone Biles compete in the Olympics?
Biles' first day of competition at the Paris Olympics would be in women's qualifiers on July 28, followed by the team final on July 30 and all-around final on August 1.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Simone Biles, US Olympic gymnast: Everything you need to know
