?It Was Like Super Scary?: Simone Biles Opens Up About Her Journey of Establishing the Biles International Invitational as a Symbol of Women?s Empowerment

Gymnastics icon?Simone Biles?is among the finest athletes the sport has ever seen. From 2012 to 2016, Biles went on a historic run, winning multiple Gymnastics World Championships and four golds, including the prestigious all-around gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Biles reached superstardom with her memorable performance. However, instead of basking in the glory of her success, the humble Texan empowered those who aspired to walk down the path she journeyed.

Simone Biles started The Biles International Invitational with a desire to inspire and empower women. The 6th edition of?the event happened in January 2023. In a recent interview, the four-time Olympic gold medalist opened up about her experience.

The noble intentions of Simone Biles

In an exclusive interview with Laureus, the seven-time Olympic medalist spoke about her vision for the Biles International Invitational. Biles revealed that empowering aspiring female athletes was always a priority for her. “A lot of those competitions will be male and female. But we decided to do female only, just to empower those girls,” said the gymnastic icon.

Biles believes these young athletes can do anything they set their minds to. “Having my name put on it is another step in the legacy I’ll leave behind in the sports,” Biles told Laureus. The champion gymnast said that the prospect of helping others excited her, “it’s like a dream come true.” On the other hand, she also felt nervous in the beginning.

“Now it’s the sixth year as for me. Now it’s normal. So if you were to ask me the first year, it was like super scary, but now it’s like just another meet,” Biles said. She feels happy that “every year girls can come to have fun and kind of live out what I used to be able to live out.”?

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Today, The Biles International Invitational has become the largest girls-only amateur gymnastics event in the USA. It’s also one of the elite compulsory qualifiers for the Nastia Liukin Cup.

Not just for the United States of America

Simone Biles’s mother also appeared in the interview. She said her daughter’s goal is “to empower women globally.” Nellie Biles said it’s important for the Olympian to have?“girls from all over the world,”?participate in the annual gymnastics meet. She said it was one of Simone Biles’s?“original goals.”

Biles wanted aspiring gymnasts to feel the pride of competing internationally. “It’s not an elite competition, but still would be something that they could feel proud,” added Nellie Biles.

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After a successful sixth edition, it’s safe to say The Biles International Invitational’s prestige will continue to grow.