SIMONE BILES
G'day folks,
Welcome to the life of a champion gymnast from the USA. Simone Arianne Biles is an American artistic gymnast. Biles is the
three-time world all-around champion, four-time United States national
all-around champion and three-time world floor champion.
American
gymnast and Olympic hopeful Simone Biles became the first woman to win three
straight all-around titles at the World Championships.
“If I
won gold in 2016, I think it would change my life.”
—Simone Biles
Synopsis
Born in
Ohio in 1997, Simone Biles has become one of America’s top gymnasts. After
dominating at the junior elite level, she won her first U.S. and world
all-around titles in 2013. In 2015, she claimed a record third straight world
all-around title, raising expectations for her showing at the 2016 Summer
Olympics.
Early Life
Born on
March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio, African-American gymnast Simone Biles has
emerged as a champion in her sport. She and her sister, Adria, were raised by
their grandfather Ron and grandmother Nellie because of their mother’s
substance abuse problem.
Ron and
Nellie eventually officially adopted the two girls, and Biles calls her
grandmother “Mom.” Nellie has been a constant source of support through Biles’s
rise in the world of competitive athletics; as the gymnast told CNN, “She
encourages me and never lets me feel down about something for too long.”
Biles discovered her abilities at an early
age. According to the official USA Gymnastics website, she visited a gymnastics
center on a field trip with her day care group, noting, “While there I imitated
the other gymnasts, and Coach Ronnie noticed. The gym sent home a letter
requesting that I join tumbling or gymnastics.” Very soon, Biles was on her way
to developing those natural gifts.
Top U.S. Gymnast
Simone
Biles began competing as a level 8 gymnast in 2007, and by 2011 she had
cemented her standing at the junior elite level. That year, she took the top
spot in the vault and balance beam events and finished third in the all-around
at the American Classic.
She followed with an impressive series of showings in
2012, winning the vault and the all-around events at the American Classic, the
Alamo Classic, the Houston National Invitational and the Secret U.S. Classic.
Biles soon emerged
as a force to be reckoned with at the senior elite level, bursting into the
spotlight as the all-around winner at the 2013 U.S. P&G Championships. Also
that year, she delivered a historic showing at the World Championships by
becoming the first female African-American athlete to win gold in the
all-around.
As she explained to The Hollywood Reporter, this impressive victory
likely served as an example to other young gymnasts: "I think it inspires
a lot of the little girls out there to go in the gym and train harder,"
she said.
Biles continued to build on her successes in 2014, again
taking the U.S. and world titles in the all-around competition. She also won
gold in the vault, floor exercise, balance beam and all-around at the Secret
U.S. Classic that same year. During her floor routines, Biles often executed
what has become her signature move: a double-flip with a half-twist.
In 2015, Biles became the first woman to win her third
consecutive world all-around title, giving her a record 10 gold medals at the
international competition. Considered one of the country’s top Olympic
hopefuls, she then resumed training for Rio 2016 at World Champions Centre,
which is owned by her family, in Spring, Texas.
Clancy's comment: Wow. Go, Simone!
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