After moving past her twisties, Simone Biles is gearing up to live her Olympic dreams once again in Paris. While her fans can’t wait to see show her magic on the mat, it might not be an easy road for her as a fresh challenge awaits – the newest kid on the block, Italian teenage phenom Manila Esposito. The 17-year-old has already etched her name in the annals of history. Going into Paris, will she give Simone Biles a run for her money?

In the 2024 European Championships, Esposito didn’t just win but reached the zenith with an impeccable record. Shattering all expectations, Esposito clinched not one, not two, but three gold in a single European Championships. The most astonishing fact is that this feat has been achieved by only the most iconic gymnasts of yesteryears. Her performances on the mat are invoking comparisons to the legendary Simone Biles, Svetlana Khorkina, and Lilia Podkopayeva. 

From wanting to quit gymnastics to European history, Esposito is making strides

Manila Esposito secured four gold medals in the 35th European Championships held in Rimini, Italy. Among these four, three are for individual events. To put into context the scale of her achievement, in the last thirty years only Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina and Ukraine’s Lilia Podkopayeva have been able to win three medals in the individual events at a single European Championships.

While Esposito’s name has already been on the pages with these iconic names, she is also being compared to Simone Biles when it comes to achieving heights at such a young age. 

Biles was also 17 when she participated in the 2014 World Gymnastics Championships and bagged four gold medals. And it looks like Esposito is following in her footsteps when it comes to making history.

Last year in an interview she said that Paris Olympics may be too early for her and was aiming for LA 2028. Speaking to Ginnasticando she said, “I hope I’ll be there, but I don’t think so. Going to the Olympics is my biggest dream. If it’s not next year, then it will be in 2028. Paris 2024 is too early right now even to think of it, but for sure I’ll do my best to try and be there for the team. Otherwise, I’ll work harder for Los Angeles 2028.” But going by her performances at the European Championships, Paris may not appear that daunting.

She first competed as a senior in 2022 in Liverpool at the World Artistic Championships. That chance, however, according to her own admission was due to injuries that her team had to deal with. But she hasn’t looked back since. A silver medal at European Championships last year in Turkey followed and then she was a All-Around world finalist in Antwerp, Belgium 2023. And this year she is in a different vein of form altogether that too in the Olympic year.

In that interview with Ginnasticando, she also revealed that there was a time when she wanted to quit gymnastics. “I lived a dark period during my early carrier when I wanted to quit with gymnastics. I was so lucky to have been surrounded by the right people, who urged me to never stop believing in my dreams. They’ve been right so far, let’s see what’s next,” she revealed. But far from quitting she will be eyeing history and glory in Paris.

The European Championships began in the 1950s. And since then there have been only twenty occasions when a gymnast has mastered a three-gold sweep to date. Besides, all the gymnasts who have previously managed to clinch a triple-gold are legendary figures in gymnastics and are Hall of Famers. Also, eighteen times the gymnasts who have achieved the hat-trick in European Championships were already Olympic medalists. 

Comparing all these stats, it’s pretty clear that Manila Esposito is already a shining name in the history of the European Championships. But there are several other grounds that make the Italian teenager eligible to be compared to American gymnastics queen Simone Biles. 

Is the rising star at par with gymnastics royalty Simone Biles?

Simone Biles, who is considered the queen of gymnastics, participated in the Rio Olympics in 2016 when she was just 19. At the time, Biles clinched gold in three individual events, including the all-around, vault, and floor exercise in the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

Speaking about her progress, she recently said, “Certainly, this year has gone better than last year because in Antalya I wasn’t able to perform the way I wanted, but here I did, and I will try to do even better in the beam final. In the last 12 months, I have competed in many other competitions, so I have gained experience, and that helps.”

The rise of the Italian teenage star might pose a threat to the Paris Olympics competitors including Biles. With the curtains closed on the 2024 European Championships, Esposito has a clear goal in sight. Like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, Paris 2024 may very well be her defining year.

Before Manila Esposito, every gymnast who has ever done this either went on to win an All-Around medal at the Olympics, or an All-Around gold medal at the World Championships. A good omen?