Simone Biles discovered her unwavering passion for the sport during eighth grade. Choosing home-schooling over public schools, she made every effort to get onto the world stage since then. Biles became the most decorated gymnast ever and has won every World Championship she has competed in since 2013. She made her Olympics debut in the 2016 Rio games and came home with five medals (four gold and one bronze). 

Flabbergasted by her accomplishments and stardom, one might not believe the hardships she went through to get there. In fact, it was her strong resolve to not give up that took her to a stage the entire world looks up to.

In 2016, in an interview, while launching her autobiography, ‘Courage to Soar’, the gymnastics legend opened up on the risky choice of floor routine she made despite the coach’s warning.

Simone Biles got up strong after landing on her face

Simone is the only woman gymnast to win three consecutive all-around titles in World Gymnastics Championships history. A champion of that caliber once didn’t participate in a few events. In the interview, she recounted incidents before making her debut as a senior gymnast in the 2013 Championships. 

Curiously, the interviewer asked what happened. “I died,” she replied. She continued she fell almost at every event. Moreover, she said she didn’t even compete in the vault because her warmup was so dangerous. Her coach said a strict ‘no’ to it. Regarding how bad her floor routine was, she said, “I like landed on my face.”

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None of these downfalls hindered Simone from cementing her dominance in the sport. Competing against Olympians and the best gymnasts across the world, her magnificent feats in the World Championships that year saw her claim the all-around title. 

Simone is an all-around trendsetter

The gymnastics legend catapulted to stardom after the 2016 Rio Games. She recognized the potential her position has in making a difference. Simone boldly voiced out her stance on certain issues that made a lasting impact on her.

When she landed on her face during the warm-up routine in 2013, she was body-shamed. People commented on her body weight. Simone recounted those moments are “hurtful” as she knew she was always fit and never fat. It took a lot of courage to open up to a psychologist, but when she finally did, she explained that it was very helpful. 

Considering these experiences, Simone became a strong advocate of prioritizing mental health, accepting oneself, and not indulging in the competitions she didn’t sign up for – that is not falling prey to the standards imposed as beauty. 

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