{"id":12457,"date":"2017-03-14T16:57:06","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T21:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=12457"},"modified":"2017-03-14T16:57:06","modified_gmt":"2017-03-14T21:57:06","slug":"the-myboysay-nation-of-sports-enthusiasts-would-like-to-wish-ms-simone-arianne-biles-one-of-the-greatest-gymnast-of-all-time-a-very-happy-20th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=12457","title":{"rendered":"THE MYBOYSAY NATION OF SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS WOULD LIKE TO WISH &#8220;MS. SIMONE ARIANNE BILES&#8221;, ONE OF THE GREATEST GYMNAST OF ALL TIME, A VERY HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-12460\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-300x180.png\" alt=\"simone\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/b><strong>Simone Arianne Biles (born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Biles is the <a title=\"2016 Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_Summer_Olympics\">2016 Olympic<\/a> individual all-around, vault and floor gold medalist. She was part of the gold medal-winning team dubbed the &#8220;Final Five&#8221; at the <a title=\"2016 Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_Summer_Olympics\">2016 Summer Olympics<\/a> in <a title=\"Rio de Janeiro\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rio_de_Janeiro\">Rio de Janeiro<\/a>. She also won the bronze medal for the <a title=\"Balance beam\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Balance_beam\">balance beam<\/a> during the Olympics. Biles is a three-time <a title=\"World Artistic Gymnastics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_Artistic_Gymnastics_Championships\">world<\/a> all-around champion (2013\u201315), three-time world floor champion (2013\u201315), two-time world balance beam champion (2014, 2015), four-time <a title=\"USA Gymnastics National Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/USA_Gymnastics_National_Championships\">United States national<\/a> all-around champion (2013\u201316), and a member of the gold medal-winning American teams at the <a title=\"2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2014_World_Artistic_Gymnastics_Championships\">2014<\/a> and <a title=\"2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2015_World_Artistic_Gymnastics_Championships\">2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Having won a combined total of nineteen Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles is the most decorated American gymnast, taking over from <a title=\"Shannon Miller\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shannon_Miller\">Shannon Miller<\/a>, who had held this record since 1996. With her win in Rio, Biles became the sixth woman to have won an individual all-around title at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games. With four Olympic gold medals, Biles set an American record for most gold medals in women\u2019s gymnastics at a single Games.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Simone Arianne Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in <a title=\"Columbus, Ohio\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Columbus,_Ohio\">Columbus, Ohio<\/a>, the third of four siblings. Her birth mother, Shanon Biles, was unable to care for Simone or her other children\u00a0\u2013 Ashley, Tevin, and Adria\u00a0\u2013 due to her drug and alcohol addiction, and the children were in and out of foster care. Simone&#8217;s birth father, Kelvin Clemons, abandoned his family, struggled with addictions, and was never present in his daughter\u2019s life. \u00a0Shanon&#8217;s father, Ron (Simone&#8217;s grandfather), and his second wife, \u00a0Nellie Cayetano Biles, who had two nearly-adult sons, Ron Jr. and Adam, began temporarily caring for Shanon&#8217;s children in 2000, in the north <a title=\"Houston\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston\">Houston<\/a> suburb of <a title=\"Spring, Texas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spring,_Texas\">Spring, Texas<\/a> and later in 2003 the couple officially adopted the two youngest children, Simone and Adria, and Ron&#8217;s sister adopted the two oldest. Ron, Simone&#8217;s father, is originally from <a title=\"Cleveland\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cleveland\">Cleveland<\/a>, and is a former <a title=\"Air traffic controller\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Air_traffic_controller\">air traffic controller,<\/a> who served in the <a title=\"United States Armed Forces\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_Armed_Forces\">military<\/a> with the <a title=\"United States Air Force\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_Air_Force\">U.S. Air Force<\/a> at <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"San Antonio, Texas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/San_Antonio,_Texas\">San Antonio&#8217;s<\/a> <a title=\"Randolph Air Force Base\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Randolph_Air_Force_Base\">Randolph Air Force Base<\/a> and later with the <a title=\"Federal Aviation Administration\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Federal_Aviation_Administration\">Federal Aviation Administration<\/a>. \u00a0Nellie, Simone&#8217;s mother, emigrated from <a title=\"Belize\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Belize\">Belize,<\/a> is a nurse and the former co-owner of a chain of fourteen <a title=\"Texas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Texas\">Texas-based<\/a> nursing homes.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Simone Biles spent all her secondary education as a <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Homeschooler\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Homeschooler\">homeschooler<\/a> and graduated in summer 2015. She verbally committed to <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"UCLA\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UCLA\">UCLA<\/a> on August 4, 2014, announcing her decision on <a title=\"Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Twitter\">Twitter<\/a>. She planned to defer enrollment until after the <a title=\"2016 Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_Summer_Olympics\">2016 Summer Olympics<\/a> in <a title=\"Rio de Janeiro\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rio_de_Janeiro\">Rio de Janeiro<\/a>. \u00a0On July 29, 2015, she announced that she would turn professional, forfeiting her <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"NCAA\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NCAA\">NCAA<\/a> eligibility.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-12461\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles-300x140.jpg\" alt=\"simone-biles\" width=\"300\" height=\"140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles-300x140.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles-768x358.jpg 768w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles-1024x478.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Biles is <a title=\"Catholicism\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catholicism\">Catholic<\/a>, \u00a0and also holds <a title=\"Belize\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Belize\">Belizean<\/a> citizenship through her mother.\u00a0She refers to Belize as being her second home. Her sister Adria is also a gymnast.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles first tried gymnastics at 6 years old as part of a day-care field trip. The instructors suggested she continue with gymnastics. Biles soon enrolled in an optional training program at Bannon&#8217;s Gymnastix. \u00a0She began training with coach <a title=\"Aimee Boorman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aimee_Boorman\">Aimee Boorman<\/a> at age 8.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles began her career on July 1, 2011, at the 2011 American Classic in <a title=\"Houston\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Houston\">Houston<\/a>. She placed third all-around, first on vault and balance beam, fourth on floor exercise, and eighth on uneven bars. Later that month, Biles competed at the 2011 U.S. Classic in <a title=\"Chicago\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chicago\">Chicago<\/a>, <a title=\"Illinois\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Illinois\">Illinois<\/a>, where she placed twentieth all-around, fifth on balance beam and floor exercise.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2012, Biles switched from public school to home schooling. The change allowed her to increase her training from approximately 20 hours a week to 32. Biles credited the increased training time with her improved success during the 2012 season.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles&#8217; first meet of 2012 was again the American Classic in Huntsville, Texas, where she placed first all-around and on vault, tied for second on floor exercise, placed third on balance beam and fourth on uneven bars. \u00a0Biles&#8217; placement in the American Classic secured her spot to compete at the 2012 USA Gymnastics National Championships. \u00a0She later competed at the 2012 U.S. Classic in Chicago. She finished first all-around and on vault, second on floor exercise, and sixth on balance beam. In June, she made her second appearance at the USA Gymnastics National Championships, this time in <a title=\"St. Louis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/St._Louis\">St. Louis<\/a>, <a title=\"Missouri\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Missouri\">Missouri<\/a>. She finished third all-around, first on vault, and sixth on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. \u00a0After this performance, Biles was named to the United States Junior National Team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles&#8217; senior international debut was in March at the 2013 <a title=\"American Cup (gymnastics)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/American_Cup_(gymnastics)\">American Cup<\/a>, a <a title=\"International Federation of Gymnastics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_Federation_of_Gymnastics\">FIG<\/a> World Cup event. She and <a title=\"Katelyn Ohashi\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Katelyn_Ohashi\">Katelyn Ohashi<\/a> were named as replacements for <a title=\"Elizabeth Price (gymnast)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elizabeth_Price_(gymnast)\">Elizabeth Price<\/a> and 2012 Olympic gold medalist <a title=\"Kyla Ross\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kyla_Ross\">Kyla Ross<\/a>, both of whom withdrew from the competition because of injuries. \u00a0Biles led for two rotations but finished second behind her teammate, Ohashi, after a fall off the beam.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles immediately went on to compete at the 2013 <a title=\"City of Jesolo Trophy\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/City_of_Jesolo_Trophy\">City of Jesolo Trophy<\/a> in <a title=\"Jesolo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jesolo\">Jesolo<\/a>, Italy, where she took the all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise titles in addition to contributing to the United States&#8217; team gold medal. She and the U.S. delegation then competed at an international tri-meet in <a title=\"Chemnitz\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chemnitz\">Chemnitz<\/a>, Germany, against teams from Germany and Romania. The U.S. again won the team gold. In addition, Biles won the vault, balance beam, and floor titles, but tied for second in the all-around behind Ross after a fall on the uneven bars.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In July, Biles competed at the 2013 U.S. Classic. She performed poorly, falling several times, and did not compete vault after tweaking her ankle on the floor exercise. Afterward, she was invited to a private camp with the national team coordinator, <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Marta Karolyi\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marta_Karolyi\">Marta Karolyi<\/a>, and consulted a sports psychologist. \u00a0Biles went on to compete at the 2013 USA Gymnastics National Championships in August, where she was crowned the national all-around champion ahead of Ross. Biles also won silver on all four individual events. \u00a0After the USA Gymnastics National Championships, she was named to the Senior National Team and was invited to the qualifying camp for the <a title=\"2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2013_World_Artistic_Gymnastics_Championships\">2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships<\/a> in Texas, where she was named to the World Championships team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12462\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles-1-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 16: Gold medalist Simone Biles of the United States celebrates on the podium at the medal ceremony for the Women's Floor on Day 11 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Rio Olympic Arena on August 16, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alex Livesey\/Getty Images)\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simone-biles-1.jpg 396w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>In October, Biles competed at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Antwerp, Belgium\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antwerp,_Belgium\">Antwerp, Belgium<\/a>. She qualified first in the all-around, second to the vault final, sixth to the uneven bars final, fifth to the balance beam final, and first to the floor final, making her the first American gymnast to qualify to the all-around and all four event finals since <a title=\"Shannon Miller\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shannon_Miller\">Shannon Miller<\/a> in 1991. Biles competed cleanly during the women&#8217;s individual all-around and won the competition with a score of 60.216, almost a point ahead of silver medalist Ross and almost a point and a half better than the bronze medalist, 2010 world all-around champion <a title=\"Aliya Mustafina\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aliya_Mustafina\">Aliya Mustafina<\/a>. \u00a0Biles became the seventh American woman and the first African-American to win the world all-around title. In event finals, she won silver on the vault, behind defending world champion and Olympic silver medalist <a title=\"McKayla Maroney\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/McKayla_Maroney\">McKayla Maroney<\/a> and ahead of 2008 Olympic gold medalist <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Hong Un Jong\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hong_Un_Jong\">Hong Un Jong<\/a> of North Korea; bronze on balance beam, behind Mustafina and Ross; and gold on the floor exercise, ahead of Italy&#8217;s <a title=\"Vanessa Ferrari\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vanessa_Ferrari\">Vanessa Ferrari<\/a> and Romania&#8217;s <a title=\"Larisa Iordache\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larisa_Iordache\">Larisa Iordache<\/a>. She finished fourth in the uneven bars final, behind China&#8217;s <a title=\"Huang Huidan\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Huang_Huidan\">Huang Huidan<\/a>, Ross, and Mustafina.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles missed the start of season due to an aggravated shoulder injury, sitting out the 2014 AT&amp;T American Cup and the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships. \u00a0Biles 2014 debut came at the U.S. Classic in Chicago. She won the all-around by a wide margin and also took first place on vault, beam (tied with Ross), and floor. \u00a0At the 2014 USA Gymnastics National Championships, Biles repeated as national all-around champion after two days of competition, finishing more than four points ahead of silver medalist Ross, despite a fall from the balance beam during her final routine of the meet. She won the gold on vault and floor, tied for the silver on balance beam with <a title=\"Alyssa Baumann\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alyssa_Baumann\">Alyssa Baumann<\/a>, and finished fourth on the uneven bars. \u00a0She was once again named to the Senior National Team.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On September 17, Biles was selected to compete at the <a title=\"2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2014_World_Artistic_Gymnastics_Championships\">2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships<\/a> in <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Nanning, China\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nanning,_China\">Nanning, China<\/a>. \u00a0She dominated the preliminary round despite a major error on the uneven bars, qualifying in first place to the all-around, vault, beam, and floor finals, in addition to contributing to the U.S. team&#8217;s first-place qualification into the team final. During the team final, Biles led the United States to its second consecutive world team championship, which they won over the second-place Chinese team by nearly seven points. In the all-around, Biles performed cleanly on all four events, bettering her bars score from qualifications by over a point, and won her second consecutive world all-around title ahead of two good friends, Ross and Iordache. Biles became the second American woman to repeat as world all-around champion, following Miller (1993 and 1994), and the first woman of any nationality to do so since Russia&#8217;s <a title=\"Svetlana Khorkina\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Svetlana_Khorkina\">Svetlana Khorkina<\/a> (2001 and 2003). \u00a0She also received extra press when a video of her fleeing from a bee on the podium during the all-around award ceremony went viral. \u00a0Biles finished behind North Korea&#8217;s Hong Un Jong in the vault competition, taking her second consecutive silver medal in that event, but went on to win the gold in the balance beam final ahead of China&#8217;s Bai Yawen and the gold in the floor exercise final, again, ahead of Iordache. This brought her total of World Championship gold medals to six, the most ever by an American gymnast, surpassing Miller&#8217;s five. \u00a0After the world championships, she was named one of ESPNW&#8217;s Impact 25 and chosen as Sportswoman of the Year by the Women&#8217;s Sports Foundation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles competed at the 2015 AT&amp;T American Cup at <a title=\"AT&amp;T Stadium\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AT%26T_Stadium\">AT&amp;T Stadium<\/a> in <a title=\"Arlington, Texas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arlington,_Texas\">Arlington, Texas<\/a> on March 7. She placed first with a score of 62.299, 4.467 points ahead of second-place finisher U.S. teammate <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Mykayla Skinner\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mykayla_Skinner\">Mykayla Skinner<\/a>. Later that month, Biles was nominated for the <a title=\"James E. Sullivan Award\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_E._Sullivan_Award\">James E. Sullivan Award<\/a>. \u00a0She ended the month at the <a title=\"2015 City of Jesolo Trophy\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2015_City_of_Jesolo_Trophy\">2015 City of Jesolo Trophy<\/a>, winning the all-around title with 62.100.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On July 25, she competed at the U.S. Classic and finished first in the all-around, ahead of 2012 Olympic all-around champion <a title=\"Gabby Douglas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gabby_Douglas\">Gabby Douglas<\/a> and <a title=\"Maggie Nichols (gymnast)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maggie_Nichols_(gymnast)\">Maggie Nichols<\/a>, with a score of 62.400. On the beam, she scored a 15.250 and took first at the event, ahead of Douglas and 2012 Olympic beam bronze medalist <a title=\"Aly Raisman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aly_Raisman\">Aly Raisman<\/a>. She scored a 16.050 on the floor and claimed first on the event, 1.050 points ahead of Douglas and also ahead of Nichols and <a title=\"Bailie Key\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bailie_Key\">Bailie Key<\/a>. She had a small hop on her <a title=\"Amanar\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amanar\">Amanar<\/a> vault and scored a 16.000. She then scored 15.150 on her second vault, to score an average of 15.575 and place first in the event, ahead of 2014 Worlds vault bronze medalist and teammate MyKayla Skinner, who averaged 14.950. Biles ended on bars and scored a 15.100 to claim the all-around title. She placed fourth in the event behind 2014 Worlds teammate <a title=\"Madison Kocian\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Madison_Kocian\">Madison Kocian<\/a>, Douglas, and Key.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-12463\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/635817456803411649-bilesap-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"635817456803411649-bilesap\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/635817456803411649-bilesap-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/635817456803411649-bilesap-140x94.jpg 140w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/635817456803411649-bilesap.jpg 680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On July 29, shortly after her performance at the U.S. Classic, Biles announced that she would be turning <a title=\"Professional sports\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Professional_sports\">pro<\/a>, thus forfeiting her chance to compete for the <a title=\"UCLA Bruins gymnastics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UCLA_Bruins_gymnastics\">UCLA Bruins gymnastics<\/a> team. She signed with <a title=\"Octagon (sports agency)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Octagon_(sports_agency)\">Octagon<\/a>, who also supports fellow American gymnast <a title=\"Aly Raisman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aly_Raisman\">Aly Raisman<\/a> and Olympic swimmer <a title=\"Michael Phelps\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Michael_Phelps\">Michael Phelps<\/a>. At the 2015 U.S. National Championships, Biles secured her third all-around national title, becoming only the second woman to ever do so, 23 years after <a title=\"Kim Zmeskal\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kim_Zmeskal\">Kim Zmeskal<\/a> (1990, 1991, 1992).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As of November 11, 2015, she was a <a title=\"Nike, Inc.\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nike,_Inc.\">Nike<\/a>-sponsored athlete \u2013 announcing this news through Twitter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles was named Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year in December 2015, making her the fourth gymnast to win the honor.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles went into the <a title=\"2016 United States women's national gymnastics team season\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_United_States_women%27s_national_gymnastics_team_season\">2016 season<\/a> as a fourth-year senior and the reigning National champion. On December 17, 2015, <a title=\"USA Gymnastics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/USA_Gymnastics\">USA Gymnastics<\/a> announced that she would compete at the <a title=\"2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_Pacific_Rim_Gymnastics_Championships\">2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships<\/a>, in April 2016 in <a title=\"Everett, Washington\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Everett,_Washington\">Everett, Washington<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>At her first competition of the year, the Pacific Rim Championships, Biles came home with the all-around title and had the highest score on vault (where she debuted a more difficult second vault), floor exercise (where she debuted a new floor routine), and balance beam. Additionally, the US came home with the team title by a wide margin. Biles did not compete in the event finals.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On June 4, Biles competed at the Secret US Classic, on the uneven bars and beam. She did not compete vault or floor exercise. She achieved the highest score on beam, a 15.650, and also received a 15.1 on bars, good enough for 5th in the event.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In the following weeks, Biles competed at the 2016 USA Gymnastics National Championships. Her vault and floor routines all received marks of at least sixteen all four times, and she received the national titles of both, respectively. On bars, she scored 14.750 and an average of 14.925, just shy of a 15 average, and a bronze for the event. On beam she again did very well, with very minor struggles on Day 2, again winning another medal. She won the all-around title by a wide margin of 3.9 points over Aly Raisman. Her two-day total was 125 points even, with an all-around average of 62.5 points.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On July 10, Biles was named to the team for the <a title=\"2016 Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_Summer_Olympics\">2016 Olympics<\/a>, alongside <a title=\"Gabby Douglas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gabby_Douglas\">Gabby Douglas<\/a>, <a title=\"Laurie Hernandez\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Laurie_Hernandez\">Laurie Hernandez<\/a>, <a title=\"Madison Kocian\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Madison_Kocian\">Madison Kocian<\/a> and <a title=\"Aly Raisman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aly_Raisman\">Aly Raisman<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In September 2016, Biles&#8217;s medical information was released following the Russian cyber espionage group <a title=\"Fancy Bear\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fancy_Bear\">Fancy Bear<\/a>&#8216;s hack into the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"World Anti Doping Agency\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_Anti_Doping_Agency\">World Anti Doping Agency<\/a>. Biles then disclosed on <a title=\"Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Twitter\">Twitter<\/a> that she has <a title=\"Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder\">attention deficit hyperactivity disorder<\/a> and was permitted to take medication for it, having applied for and received a Therapeutic Use Exemption.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 2016 she was chosen as one of <a title=\"100 Women (BBC)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/100_Women_(BBC)\">BBC&#8217;s 100 Women<\/a>, and as the 2016 espnW IMPACT25 Woman of the Year. \u00a0She was also one of the finalists for <i><a title=\"Time (magazine)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Time_(magazine)\">Time magazine<\/a>&#8216;<\/i>s 2016 <a title=\"Time Person of the Year\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Time_Person_of_the_Year\">Person of the Year<\/a>. Biles was also nominated for a 2016 ESPY award for Best Female Athlete along with <a title=\"Elena Delle Donne\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elena_Delle_Donne\">Elena Delle Donne<\/a>, <a title=\"Katie Ledecky\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Katie_Ledecky\">Katie Ledecky<\/a>, and <a title=\"Breanna Stewart\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Breanna_Stewart\">Breanna Stewart<\/a>; Stewart won the award.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles appeared with gymnasts <a title=\"Dominique Dawes\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dominique_Dawes\">Dominique Dawes<\/a> and <a title=\"Nadia Com\u0103neci\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nadia_Com%C4%83neci\">Nadia Com\u0103neci<\/a> in a commercial for <a title=\"Tide (brand)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tide_(brand)\">Tide<\/a> called &#8220;The Evolution of Power&#8221; prior to the <a title=\"2016 Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_Summer_Olympics\">2016 Summer Olympics<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On August 7, Biles competed in the Women&#8217;s Qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She scored a 16.050 on the vault, a 15.000 on the uneven bars, a 15.633 on the balance beam, and a 15.733 on the floor exercise. Along with the team final, she individually qualified into the all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise finals. On August 9, Biles won her first Olympic gold medal in the gymnastics team event.<sup class=\"noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact\">[<i><a title=\"Wikipedia:Citation needed\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wikipedia:Citation_needed\"><span title=\"This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2016)\">citation needed<\/span><\/a><\/i>]<\/sup> She also won the gold medal individual all-around on August 11, with teammate Aly Raisman winning the silver and Russia&#8217;s <a title=\"Aliya Mustafina\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aliya_Mustafina\">Aliya Mustafina<\/a> claiming the bronze. Biles had a total score of 62.198 with 15.866 on the vault, 14.966 on the uneven bars, 15.433 on the balance beam, and 15.933 on the floor. Biles had the highest scores on vault, balance beam, and floor; she had the only score over 15 on balance beam in the finals. In the women&#8217;s vault, she won her second individual gold medal with a score of 15.966, more than 0.7 points ahead of second-place finisher <a title=\"Maria Paseka\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maria_Paseka\">Maria Paseka<\/a> of Russia and third-place finisher <a title=\"Giulia Steingruber\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Giulia_Steingruber\">Giulia Steingruber<\/a> of Switzerland. In the women&#8217;s balance beam final, she grabbed the beam, scoring a 14.733. Despite her mistake, wobbly routines from France&#8217;s <a class=\"new\" title=\"Marine Boyer (page does not exist)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Marine_Boyer&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1\">Marine Boyer<\/a>, Brazil&#8217;s <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Flavia Saraiva\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Flavia_Saraiva\">Flavia Saraiva<\/a>, China&#8217;s <a title=\"Fan Yilin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fan_Yilin\">Fan Yilin<\/a>, Romania&#8217;s <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Catalina Ponor\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catalina_Ponor\">Catalina Ponor<\/a>, and Canadian <a title=\"Isabela Onyshko\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Isabela_Onyshko\">Isabela Onyshko<\/a> allowed her to grab bronze behind teammate <a title=\"Laurie Hernandez\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Laurie_Hernandez\">Laurie Hernandez<\/a> who won silver and <a title=\"Sanne Wevers\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sanne_Wevers\">Sanne Wevers<\/a> of the Netherlands. In the women&#8217;s floor exercise final, she won gold with a score of 15.966. Teammate <a title=\"Aly Raisman\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Aly_Raisman\">Aly Raisman<\/a> won silver with a score of 15.500 and <a title=\"Amy Tinkler\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amy_Tinkler\">Amy Tinkler<\/a> of Great Britain won bronze. She contributed to an historic feat for the gymnastics team, with USA claiming a medal on every event for the first time since 1984.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12464\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simonebiles1-300x218.jpg\" alt=\"Gold medalist Simone Biles of the U.S poses with her medal after the women's all-round final at the World Gymnastics Championships at the Hydro Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, October 29, 2015. REUTERS\/Phil Noble\" width=\"300\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simonebiles1-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/simonebiles1.jpg 591w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>With four Olympic gold medals, Biles set a new American record for most gold medals in women\u2019s gymnastics at a single Games, and equalled a number of other records with her medals won in Rio. Biles&#8217; win of four gold medals was the first instance of a quadruple gold medallist in women&#8217;s gymnastics at a single Games since <a title=\"Ecaterina Szabo\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecaterina_Szabo\">Ecaterina Szabo<\/a> (Romania) in 1984, and the fifth overall, after <a title=\"Larisa Latynina\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larisa_Latynina\">Larisa Latynina<\/a> (USSR, 1956), <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Agnes Keleti\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Agnes_Keleti\">Agnes Keleti<\/a> ( HUN, 1956), <a title=\"V\u011bra \u010c\u00e1slavsk\u00e1\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/V%C4%9Bra_%C4%8C%C3%A1slavsk%C3%A1\">V\u011bra \u010c\u00e1slavsk\u00e1<\/a> (CZE, 1968) and Szabo. Biles became the sixth female gymnast to have won an individual all-around title at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games; the others being <a title=\"Larisa Latynina\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Larisa_Latynina\">Larisa Latynina<\/a>, <a title=\"V\u011bra \u010c\u00e1slavsk\u00e1\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/V%C4%9Bra_%C4%8C%C3%A1slavsk%C3%A1\">V\u011bra \u010c\u00e1slavsk\u00e1<\/a>, <a title=\"Ludmilla Tourischeva\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ludmilla_Tourischeva\">Ludmilla Tourischeva<\/a>, <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Elena Shushunova\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elena_Shushunova\">Elena Shushunova<\/a> and <a title=\"Lilia Podkopayeva\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lilia_Podkopayeva\">Lilia Podkopayeva<\/a>. Biles is the first female gymnast since <a title=\"Lilia Podkopayeva\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lilia_Podkopayeva\">Lilia Podkopayeva<\/a> (UKR) in 1996 to win the all around gold as well as an event final gold, and the first female gymnast since Podkopayeva to win the Olympic all around title while holding the World and European\/American individual all around titles. Biles joins Latynina (1956\u20131960), \u010c\u00e1slavsk\u00e1 (1964\u20131968) and <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Tourischeva\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tourischeva\">Tourischeva<\/a> (1968\u20131972), as the fourth female gymnast to win every major all-around title in an Olympic cycle.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles now joins <a title=\"Mary Lou Retton\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mary_Lou_Retton\">Mary Lou Retton<\/a> in 1984, <a title=\"Shannon Miller\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shannon_Miller\">Shannon Miller<\/a> in 1992 and <a title=\"Nastia Liukin\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nastia_Liukin\">Nastia Liukin<\/a> in 2008 in winning five medals at a single Olympic Games, along with Szabo (ROM, 1984), <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Nadia Comaneci\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nadia_Comaneci\">Nadia Comaneci<\/a> (ROM, 1976) and <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Karin Janz\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Karin_Janz\">Karin Janz<\/a> (East Germany, 1972). <a title=\"Olga Mostepanova\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Olga_Mostepanova\">Olga Mostepanova<\/a> (USSR) also won five gold medals at the Alternate Olympics in 1984. The overall record for most women&#8217;s Olympic gymnastics medals at a single games (majority gold), remains six medals (Latynina, 1956, 1960 and 1964, Keleti, 1956, Caslavska, 1968, <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Daniela Silivas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Daniela_Silivas\">Daniela Silivas<\/a>, 1988).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Biles and her teammate <a title=\"Gabby Douglas\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gabby_Douglas\">Gabby Douglas<\/a> are the only American female gymnasts to win both the individual all-around gold and team gold at the same Olympic games. Douglas won both in the 2012 London games.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>She was chosen by Team USA to be the flag bearer for the closing ceremonies. She was the first American female gymnast to be given the honor.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>On March 1, 2017, Biles was revealed as one of the contestants who would compete on <a title=\"Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 24)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dancing_with_the_Stars_(U.S._season_24)\">season 24<\/a> of <i><a title=\"Dancing with the Stars (U.S. TV series)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dancing_with_the_Stars_(U.S._TV_series)\">Dancing with the Stars<\/a><\/i>. She is paired with professional dancer <a title=\"Sasha Farber\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sasha_Farber\">Sasha Farber<\/a>.<\/strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-12465\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/740full-simone-biles-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"740full-simone-biles\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/740full-simone-biles-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/740full-simone-biles.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simone Arianne Biles (born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Biles is the 2016 Olympic individual all-around, vault and floor gold medalist. She was part of the gold medal-winning team dubbed the &#8220;Final Five&#8221; at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She also won the bronze medal for the balance beam [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,1314,1456,1156,14,1,1282,7,9,10],"tags":[1608,1725,1733,1732,1729,1730,1726,1727,1728,1731],"class_list":["post-12457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-most-commented","category-news","category-olympics","category-sports","category-us","category-world","tag-1608","tag-2016-olympic-individual-all-around","tag-american-record-for-most-gold-medals-in-womens-gymnastics-at-a-single-games","tag-biles-is-the-most-decorated-american-gymnast","tag-four-time-united-states-national-all-around-champion-2013-16","tag-member-of-the-gold-medal-winning-american-teams-at-the-2014-and-2015-world-artistic-gymnastics-championships","tag-three-time-world-all-around-champion-2013-15","tag-three-time-world-floor-champion-2013-15","tag-two-time-world-balance-beam-champion-2014","tag-won-a-combined-total-of-nineteen-olympic-and-world-championship-medals","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12457\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}