Simone Biles

Simone Arianne Biles Owens (née Biles) is an American artistic gymnast born on March 14, 1997. Widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, she is the most decorated gymnast in history, having won 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals. Her 11 Olympic medals tie her as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast in history and mark the highest total earned by any U.S. gymnast. She is also the originator of the most difficult skills on women's vault, balance beam, and floor exercise.

Biles was born in Columbus, Ohio, as the third of four siblings. After spending time in foster care due to her birth mother being unable to care for her children, Biles moved to Spring, Texas, to live with her maternal grandfather, Ron Biles, and his wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles. The couple formally adopted Simone and her younger sister in 2003. Biles holds Belizean citizenship through her adoptive mother. She attended elementary school in Harris County, Texas, before switching to homeschooling in 2012 to increase her training, earning her high-school diploma in mid-2015.

Biles first tried gymnastics at age six during a day-care field trip, leading her to enroll at Bannon's Gymnastics. At age eight, she began training under coach Aimee Boorman. She launched her elite career in 2011 as a junior, competing at events such as the American Classic, the U.S. Classic, and the USA Gymnastics National Championships. By 2012, strong national performances earned her a spot on the U.S. Junior National Team.

Making her senior international debut in 2013, Biles won her first national all-around title and was selected for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. At age 16, she won the world all-around title, becoming the first African American woman to do so. Over her career, Biles accumulated a record 30 World Championship medals, including 23 gold medals, six individual all-around titles (2013–2015, 2018–2019, 2023), six floor exercise titles, four balance beam titles, two vault titles, and five gold medals with the U.S. team.

At the Olympic Games, Biles led gold-medal-winning U.S. teams in 2016 and 2024. Individually, she won all-around gold in 2016 and 2024, vault gold in 2016 and 2024, floor exercise gold in 2016 and silver in 2024, and balance beam bronze in 2016 and 2020. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she withdrew from most events after the qualification round due to "the twisties," a temporary loss of proprioception while performing twisting elements, but still earned team silver and balance beam bronze.

Domestically, Biles has won a record nine U.S. national all-around championships (2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021, 2023–2024), becoming the oldest female gymnast to win the title in 2024. In 2022, President Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her honors also include four Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year awards (2017, 2019, 2020, 2025) and the 2024 Comeback of the Year award.