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Simone Biles made her Olympic debut in 2016 at the Rio Games, and since then, she has accumulated a total of seven medals from the prestigious event. This makes her the ninth-most successful Olympian of all time and ties her with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals by a U.S. gymnast.
Biles started off her Olympic season in April 2016, competing in and winning the Pacific Rim Championships. From there, the then-21-year-old went on to participate in the 2016 U.S. National Championships, winning gold in the all-around, vault, and balance beam. She was subsequently named to the US Olympic team for the first time.
Simone Biles kicked off her Rio Olympics journey on August 7, competing in the women's qualification. She helped the American team qualify for the finals in first place and made it to the individual finals in the all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise events.
On August 9, Biles laid claim to her first Olympic medal, clinching a gold in the team event. She was the only American gymnast to compete in all four events in the final, playing an integral role in the team's 8-point victory over rivals Russia.
From there, the 26-year-old went on to claim gold in all-around, vault, and floor exercise, while she settled for a bronze in the balance beam. This made her a five-time Olympic medalist on her debut itself.
Simone Biles had a similarly impressive season on the way to her second Olympics. En route to Tokyo, she claimed her seventh national all-around title, won gold in vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, as well as a bronze in the uneven bars.
In Japan, Biles looked out of form in the qualifying rounds, stumbling and failing to stick her landings. Despite this, she managed to make it to all five individual finals and helped the US make their third consecutive team finals.
However, the ace gymnast went on to withdraw from the team, all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise finals, citing mental health issues. Biles did go on to compete in the balance beam final, performing a scaled-down routine and winning bronze.
After the Olympics, the American revealed she had been plagued with a case of “the twisties” during the Games. The twisties are a phenomenon where a gymnast loses spatial awareness while in the air.
Will Simone Biles be at the Paris Olympics?
After her setback in Tokyo, Simone Biles went on to take a two-year hiatus from gymnastics. She made her comeback in August of 2023, competing at the US Classics. While there, the 26-year-old proved that she still had what it took to be the best, making multiple trips to the podium.
A few weeks later, Biles competed at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. While in Antwerp, Belgium, the American claimed four golds and a silver and even had a second vault named after her.
While the gymnast has tried to keep from talking about the 2024 Olympics too much, she did confirm that intends to be competing in Paris when the time comes.
In an interview with the TODAY show, the host, Hoda Kotb, said:
"If I had $5 in my hand and I was going to Vegas and I'm like, 'I'm going to bet on whether Simone will go to the Olympics or not. Where would I put my five bucks, the yay or the nay?”
To this, Simone Biles responded while laughing:
"I wouldn't mind if you put it in the yay section.”
