Simone Biles’ road to stardom: Career milestones for America’s favorite gymnast
Simone Biles has had a storied career.
At the age of 24, she has already won five Olympic medals — four of them gold — and has more world medals than any other gymnast.
It’s no wonder that she’s considered the greatest of all time in the sport.
As Biles and the rest of Team USA vie for another Olympic gold medal in the team event, take a look at Biles’ career up to this point.
First U.S. all-around title
Biles wins her first U.S. all-around title in 2013. She would go on to win six more national all-around titles — in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021. She is also a six-time U.S. champion in vault and a five-time U.S. champion in balance beam and floor exercise.
First World all-around title
Following her first U.S. all-around win, Biles goes on to compete at the World championships in 2013 and wins her first World all-around title. That year, she also won a gold medal in floor exercise, along with a silver medal on vault and a bronze on beam.
Today, she has 25 World medals, 19 of them gold, which is more than any other gymnast in history.
Gymnastics experts and those who have watched Simone Biles’ evolution explain how and why she became so much better than anyone else.
2016 Rio Olympics
Biles led the U.S. women’s gymnastics team to a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She then went on to win three more gold medals in the all-around competition, vault and floor exercise and a bronze medal in beam. Her four Olympic gold medals tied the record for most medals a female gymnast has won in a single Olympic Games.
The namesake of four skills
Considered the ultimate sign of respect, Biles also has four gymnastics skills named after her. One is on vault, one on beam and two on floor.
Simone Biles can do things no female gymnast in history has been able to pull off. The canny way she’s handled her personal brand makes her one of the most sought-after Olympians for marketers.
A history-making vault
Biles made history yet again in May when she became the first woman to attempt and land a Yurchenko double pike vault in competition. The extremely difficult vault maneuver had been done only by a handful of men.
