Features Editor, Leah Langley, discusses the pocket rocket making soaring high in the gymnastics world, Simone Biles.
Simone Biles was born on March 14th1997, and is an American Artistic Gymnast. She has recently hit the headlines for making history in the world of gymnastics by breaking yet more records.
Simone first hit the majority of our television screens at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. She entered the 2016 season as the reigning national champion and a fourth-year senior gymnast. At the games she helped Team USA win gold in the team event, before winning 3 individual golds (All-Around, Vault, Floor), and a bronze medal on the balance beam. Her efforts meant that it was the first time that Team USA had medalled in every event since 1984 (her teammate won silver on the uneven bars).
Fast forward to the 2018 World Championships and America’s very own pocket rocket took the gymnastics world by storm. The night before the qualifications Simone was admitted to hospital with stomach pains, which later turned out to be Kidney Stones, but she discharged herself so that she could compete. Despite this, she still went on to qualify for the All-Around, Vault, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise finals in first place, and the Uneven Bars final in second place.
In the team final Simone competed on every event and recorded the highest score of any competitor on the Vault, Uneven Bars, and the Floor, helping Team USA to secure the gold. Simone then went on to win gold in the All-Round final which meant that she set a new record for the most World All-Around Women’s titles won by one person. This success still didn’t stop Simone from going on to win her first Vault gold medal at a World Championships, moments later winning a silver medal on the uneven bars. This silver medal meant that Simone was the first American to win a World Championship medal on every single event. On the final day of the women’s competition, Simone went on to win a bronze medal on the Balance Beam, becoming the first American gymnast to medal in every event at one World Championships, something that hadn’t been done since 1987.
The ongoing success that Simone has had means that she now has 14 World Championship titles. Alongside this she has 25 Olympic and World Championship medals in total, making her the most decorated gymnast in American History. The question is, what is next for the gymnastics rising superstar?
Featured image by: Omeiza Haruna
