Biography
American gymnast Simone Biles held what was arguably one of the best records in the history of her sport, with more than a dozen World Championship medals and three consecutive world all-around titles, all achieved before she reached the age of 20. Born Simone Arianne Biles in Columbus, Ohio on March 14, 1997, she and her three siblings were placed into foster care after their mother, who suffered from substance and alcohol issues, was unable to care from them. Biles and her sister, Adria, were then adopted by their maternal grandparents, Ronnie and Nellie Biles, who raised the siblings in Texas. There, she was introduced to gymnastics during a day care field trip to a gym; a coach noticed Biles imitating the other gymnasts and contacted her parents about training. She began competing at the state level in her early teens, capturing top honors in all-around and floor exercise before entering the national competition field. Biles soon added all-around and vault titles at the 2011 Gliders International and 2012 Alamo Classics before securing a place on the U.S. Junior National Team with a first place win at the VISA Championship that same year. She made her international debut at the 2013 American Cup and soon took home four first place titles at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy that same year. Soon after, Biles was named national all-around champion at the 2013 P&G Championships, with the world all-around title and placement on the Senior National Team coming that same year. A shoulder injury kept her out of competition for the start of the 2014 season, but quickly rebounded to defend her national all-around title, along with two additional medals at the P&G Championships that same year. That number rose to a record-setting six medals later that year at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, China; by the following year, Biles had turned professional and became the second woman to secure three titles at the U.S. National Championships, the first to win three consecutive all-around titles at the World Gymnastics Championships and the only American athlete to hold 14 World Championship medals. Officially minted as the reigning U.S. champion in all-around, vault, balance beam and floor exercise for 2016, she qualified for the U.S. National Team to compete at the Summer Olympics in Rio that year.
