Simone Arianne Biles was born on March 14th, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio, but was soon after adopted by her grandparents and relocated to Spring, Texas, right outside of Houston. While on a daycare trip to Bannon’s Gymnastix at the age of six, Simone fell head over heels for the sport and instantly knew what her purpose would be. Staying at Bannon’s for eleven years, she worked with coach Aimee Boorman, who pushed her to work hard and achieve her goals to make them a reality. 

Her first “big time” win was winning gold in a floor exercise at the Women’s Junior Olympics National Championship in 2010. In 20111, she broke into the elite level of competition. Biles was different from all of the other gymnasts at the time. She had the determination and the consistency, along with the personality, to push through and dominate everyone else, as she soon did. 

In 2013, around the age of sixteen, Biles became the first African-American woman to claim the all-around title at her first world competition. During this competition, Biles took home a silver medal in vault and a bronze medal in beam. At the 2014 World Championships, she claimed four gold medals for all of the hard work she put in. 

“Surround yourself with the dreamers, the doers, the believers and thinkers; but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it in yourself.” Biles uses her own words of encouragement to continue thriving and working hard day by day. 

In 2019, she continued to make history. At this year’s World Championships, she became the first gymnast in six decades to successfully win five gold medals, including one in an all-around event. She bypassed Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus becoming the gymnast with the most championship titles, twenty-five. 

COVID-19 had somewhat of an effect on Biles. Because of her twisties, which is a mental block that many gymnasts face, she struggled a lot. No major competitions were being held during this time, though. 

Currently, she is a  three-time recipient of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year and has received major recognition, including TIME Magazine 100 Most Influential, Forbes 30 Under 30, Ebony Power 100, People Women Changing the World, USA Today 100 Women of the Century, and two-time Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. 

In my opinion, Simone is one of the most influential people in the history of sports. She is a great example of using her experiences to strive and create a name for herself. Her will power and the strength of her mind and body could take her anywhere, and I’m one-hundred percent sure that she will dominate until she retires. 

Today, Simone is still competing and aiming to reach more milestones for herself. Simone doesn’t have any plans of retiring anytime soon and will continue working hard for years to come.