Simone Biles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Simone Biles
Biles at the 2024 U.S. Championships
Personal information
Full name	Simone Arianne Biles Owens
Country represented	United States
Born	(1997-03-14) March 14, 1997 (age 28) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Spouse	Jonathan Owens ​ (m. 2023)​
Height	4 ft 8 in (142 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2012–2016 2018–2021 2023–present (USA)
Gym	World Champions Centre (2015–present) Bannon's Gymnastix Inc. (2003–2014)
Head coach(es)	Laurent Landi Cécile Canqueteau-Landi
Former coach(es)	Aimee Boorman
Eponymous skills	Biles (6.0) (vault): Yurchenko half on–straight front salto double twist off Biles II (6.4) (vault): Yurchenko double pike Biles (H) (balance beam): double-twisting double tucked salto dismount Biles (G) (floor exercise): double layout salto half out Biles II (J) (floor exercise): triple-twisting double tucked salto (aka "triple double")
Medal record Representing  United States Women's artistic gymnastics Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 7 2 2 World Championships 23 4 3 Pacific Rim Championships 2 0 0 Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro All-around Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Vault Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Floor exercise Gold 2024 Paris Team Gold 2024 Paris All-around Gold 2024 Paris Vault Silver 2020 Tokyo Team Silver 2024 Paris Floor exercise Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Balance beam Bronze 2020 Tokyo Balance beam World Championships Gold 2013 Antwerp All-around Gold 2013 Antwerp Floor exercise Gold 2014 Nanning Team Gold 2014 Nanning All-around Gold 2014 Nanning Balance beam Gold 2014 Nanning Floor exercise Gold 2015 Glasgow Team Gold 2015 Glasgow All-around Gold 2015 Glasgow Balance beam Gold 2015 Glasgow Floor exercise Gold 2018 Doha Team Gold 2018 Doha All-around Gold 2018 Doha Vault Gold 2018 Doha Floor exercise Gold 2019 Stuttgart Team Gold 2019 Stuttgart All-around Gold 2019 Stuttgart Vault Gold 2019 Stuttgart Balance beam Gold 2019 Stuttgart Floor exercise Gold 2023 Antwerp Team Gold 2023 Antwerp All-around Gold 2023 Antwerp Balance beam Gold 2023 Antwerp Floor exercise Silver 2013 Antwerp Vault Silver 2014 Nanning Vault Silver 2018 Doha Uneven bars Silver 2023 Antwerp Vault Bronze 2013 Antwerp Balance beam Bronze 2015 Glasgow Vault Bronze 2018 Doha Balance beam Pacific Rim Championships Gold 2016 Everett Team Gold 2016 Everett All-around FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around World Cup 2 1 0

Simone Arianne Biles Owens (born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. She has won more Olympic and World Championship medals than any other gymnast in history. Many people consider her the greatest gymnast of all time. In 2022, Simone received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden. This is one of the highest honors a civilian can get in the U.S.

Early Life and Family

Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio. She is the third of four children. When Simone was young, her grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles, started taking care of her and her siblings. In 2003, they officially adopted Simone and her younger sister, Adria.

Simone also has Belizean citizenship through her adoptive mother. She calls Belize her second home. Simone and her family are Catholic.

Simone went to Benfer Elementary School. In 2012, she decided to be homeschooled. This allowed her to train more, about 32 hours a week. She finished high school in 2015. Instead of going to college at UCLA for gymnastics, she chose to become a professional gymnast.

Gymnastics Journey

Simone first tried gymnastics at age 6 during a daycare field trip. The teachers saw her talent and suggested she continue. She soon joined a training program at Bannon's Gymnastics. When she was eight, she started training with coach Aimee Boorman.

Simone began her elite gymnastics career at age 14 in 2011. She competed in 2011 and 2012 and was chosen for the U.S. Junior National Team.

Senior Career Highlights

Simone made her senior international debut in March 2013 at the American Cup. This was an FIG World Cup event. She competed in several international and national events that year. In October 2013, Simone had surgery for bone spurs in her right tibia bone. This kept her from competing for three weeks.

In 2014, Simone missed the start of the season because of a shoulder injury. She returned to compete in the U.S. Classic and the U.S. National Championships. She also competed in the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in China.

In 2015, Simone continued to compete in major events. These included the AT&T American Cup and the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Scotland.

In April 2016, Simone started her season at the Pacific Rim Championships. On July 10, she was named to the team for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Her teammates were Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman. Before the Olympics, some of Simone's medical information was shared. She explained that she has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and had special permission to take medication for it.

2016 Summer Olympics

A homecoming parade for Biles in Spring, Texas on August 24, 2016

Simone competed in the Women's Qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics on August 7. On August 9, she won her first Olympic gold medal in the team event. She was the only gymnast on Team USA to compete in all four events: vault, bars, beam, and floor. The American team won the gold medal.

Simone won four gold medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics. This set an American record for the most gold medals in women's gymnastics at a single Olympics. She also won one bronze medal.

Team USA chose Simone to be the flag bearer in the closing ceremonies. She was the first American female gymnast to have this honor.

Taking a Break and Returning

Simone did not compete in 2017. After the 2016 Rio Games, she wrote an autobiography called Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance. She also competed on Dancing with the Stars, finishing in fourth place.

In August 2017, Simone announced she was returning to the gym to start training again. Her longtime coach, Aimee Boorman, had moved. In October, Simone hired new coaches, Laurent Landi and Cécile Canqueteau-Landi.

In 2018, Simone was back on the National Team. She competed in several events, including the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Qatar. The night before the competition, she had stomach pains and found out she had a kidney stone. Even with this, she competed and did very well. Simone became the first U.S. gymnast to win a medal on every event at a single World Championships.

Biles at the 2019 All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game

In 2019, Simone continued her success. At the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, she won five gold medals. These were for team, all-around, vault, beam, and floor.

In 2020, many events were canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the Tokyo World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In 2021, Simone competed in the U.S. Classic and the U.S. National Championships. She earned a spot on the 2020 Olympic team. (The 2020 Olympics were held in 2021).

2020 Summer Olympics (Held in 2021)

Simone faced challenges during the qualification rounds. She shared on Instagram that she felt a lot of pressure. She decided to withdraw from the women's team final and most other events. Simone explained she was experiencing the "twisties." This is a feeling gymnasts get when they lose their sense of where they are in the air during twists.

She competed in the balance beam final with an easier routine and won a bronze medal. Simone said this bronze medal was her most meaningful. It showed her focus on mental health and her strength. She also shared that her aunt had passed away unexpectedly just two days before the beam final.

Some people criticized Simone for withdrawing, but many others supported her decision to prioritize her mental health.

2023 and 2024 Return

At the 2023 U.S. Classic, Simone performed very well. At the National Championships, she won her eighth national all-around title. This broke a record set in 1933. She also became the oldest woman to win the title at 26 years old.

In 2024, Simone started her season strong at the Core Hydration Classic. She placed first in the all-around. At the 2024 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships, she won gold in all events. She became the first gymnast to win nine all-around titles at this event.

At the Olympic trials, Simone placed first in the all-around. She was then chosen to represent the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This made her one of only four American female artistic gymnasts to compete in three Olympic Games.

Before the Paris Olympics, she submitted a new skill for the Uneven bars. If approved, she would be the only female gymnast with a skill named after her on every gymnastics apparatus.

In Paris, Simone led Team USA to a gold medal in the team event. She also won the all-around and vault titles. She became the first woman since Věra Čáslavská to win two Olympic individual all-around gold medals. Simone won silver in the floor exercise. In the Balance beam final, she finished 5th.

Simone's Amazing Skills

Biles at the 2016 Olympics all-around podium

Simone Biles is known for doing incredibly difficult gymnastics skills. Her routines on vault (2023) and floor exercise (2024) are the hardest ever performed in women's artistic gymnastics. She is the only gymnast to have performed four skills rated H or higher on floor exercise.

Some of her most difficult skills include:

Skills Named After Simone

Several gymnastics moves are named after Simone Biles. This happens when a gymnast is the first to successfully perform a new, difficult skill in a major competition. Her named skills on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise are some of the most difficult in the sport. Until recently, she was the only gymnast to perform these skills in international competitions. In May 2021, she was the first woman to complete a Yurchenko double piked on the vault in competition.

Sponsors and Endorsements

Simone Biles has worked with many big companies. In 2015, she signed deals with Octagon sports agency, Nike, GK Elite Sportswear, and Core Power. After the 2016 Rio Olympics, she partnered with companies like Procter & Gamble, The Hershey Company, United Airlines, and Spieth America. She also became a spokesperson for Mattress Firm's program supporting foster homes and for Beats By Dr Dre. In 2021, Simone announced she was leaving Nike to partner with Athleta, a brand owned by Gap.

Personal Life

Simone Biles was in a relationship with fellow gymnast Stacey Ervin Jr from 2017 to 2020.

She started dating professional American football player Jonathan Owens in August 2020. They announced their engagement on February 15, 2022. Simone and Jonathan got married on April 22, 2023.

Simone Biles Quotes

• "The unexpected is usually what brings the unbelievable."
• "I always say my biggest competitor is myself."
• "It doesn’t matter what you look like. You can strive for greatness, and you can be great."
• "If you aren’t committed to training, conditioning, and practice, you aren’t committed to being your best."
• "Don’t wait until you’ve reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching that goal."
• "Today, do what others won’t so tomorrow you can accomplish what others can’t."

Interesting Facts About Simone Biles

• Simone is the most decorated female gymnast in America.
• Simone's sister Adria is also a gymnast.
• In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Biles was the shortest of all 555 athletes representing the United States.
• She has four difficult gymnastics moves named after her.
• She loves pizza and often treats herself to pepperoni pizza after gymnastics meets.
• Simone owns her own emoji called "Simoji."
• Simone Biles’s husband, Jonathan Owens, didn’t know who she was when they first started dating.

Awards and Honors

Biles signs a 35-ton steel plate alongside Katie Ledecky and NNS president Jennifer Boykin to signal the start of construction of the USS Enterprise

Biles awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden in July 2022

• Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year (2015)
• Sponsor of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (2016)
• Glamour Award for the Record Breaker (2016)
• One of BBC's 100 Women (2016)
• Sportswoman of the Year (2016)
• ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete (2017)
• Shorty Awards for the best in sports (2017)
• Favorite female athlete in the Teen Choice Awards (2017)
• Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year (2017, 2019, and 2020). In April 2024, Biles won her fourth Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year.
• Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (2017)
• Arthur Ashe Courage Award (2018)
• People's Choice Award for The Game Changer of 2019 (2019)
• Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022)
• The Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award (2024)

Images for kids

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  Balance Beam

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  Uneven Bars

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  Floor Exercise

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  Simone Biles with VOA's Ramon Taylor in 2018

See also

In Spanish: Simone Biles para niños