Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the name Simone Biles. For the last decade, she has dominated gymnastics. Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history.
Recently, in Aug. 2023, at the 2023 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Biles broke a record that was held for 90 years! She is the first gymnast, male or female, to win eight national titles. She won her first national title only 10 years earlier in 2013 at the World Championships.
She not only beat Alfred Jochim’s record of seven national titles, but she also broke the record for being the oldest woman, at age 26, to win a national title since USA Gymnastics took over in 1963.
Biles took a two year break from the sport right after the Olympics to focus on her mental health. During her break, she got married to the safety of the Green Bay Packers, Jonathan Owens.
After this break, despite her being considered “too old” for the sport, she came back stronger than ever. She won her first competition and performed the Yurchenko double pike. She is currently the only woman ever to complete this vault, due to the risks involved.
In only her second competition back, Biles beat the silver medalist, Shilese Jones, by an astonishing 3.9 points! Biles is back, and it doesn’t look like she plans on stopping any time soon.
Many are trying to figure out if Biles is planning to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic games, but she kept quiet when asked. She told NBC, “I’m trying to move a little bit differently this year than I have in the past. So I think it’s working so far, so I’m gonna keep it a little bit secretive.”
It looks like we will just have to wait and see if the G.O.A.T stays on top, or if she will crumble under the pressure like she did at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, Biles had to pull out of the games mid-competition due to her mental state. There was so much pressure on her, and so much going on in her non-gymnastics life as well, that she withdrew. It also did not help when she got “the twisties.” Yes, “the twisties” are an actual thing gymnasts get. It is where you lose all feeling of where you are in the air, and have no idea where you are or how close to the ground you are. This can be very dangerous, especially for high level elite gymnasts.
Overall, Biles has surprised the entire nation time and time again, so it is exciting to see what else she has in store for us in the competitions to come.
