Simone Biles discovered her interest in gymnastics when she went on a field trip with her daycare group. There, the gym saw how well she would imitate the gymnasts and they sent a note to her daycare asking if she would join the tumbling class. With the encouragement of her grandparents, she went to the class and eventually started competing in 2007. She won many competitions and during this time, she developed her signature move: a double-flip with a half twist.
In 2015, Biles won her “third consecutive world all-around title, giving her a record 10 gold medals at the international competition”, according to biography.com. And in 2016, she led the US gymnastics team, Raisman, Douglas, Hernandez and Kocian, nicknamed the “Final Five” in honor of this Olympics being their coach’s final Olympics, to gold. She also made history in the Olympics when she got the largest lead than any gymnast from 1980 to 2012 and when she was “the first woman in two decades to win back-to-back Olympic all-around and world titles” (Biography). She then went on to break several records in the US nationals and the World championships.
She stood up for her mental health during last year’s Olympics due to the “twisties”, “a mental block when an athlete loses their spatial awareness during an intense routine”, according to newsweek.com, showing people around the world that mental health is as important as physical health and that even people who are very good at what they do sometimes need to take a break for themselves.