Simone Biles didn’t become a worldwide sensation overnight. Instead, she had to break her back for a long time, starting on the journey from the age of eight. And when one of her earliest friends celebrates her big day, the country’s prodigal daughter shared a special memory to mark the occasion.

In her recent Instagram story, Biles shared an image of her first-ever training center where she also found one of her closest friends. The image shows a tiny Biles sporting a shiny leotard and oblivious to the fact that her first steps were being captured by someone on camera. Congratulating her friend Rachel Roettger on her special day, Biles’ story reads, “happy happy birthday my Day 1 gym bestie“.

In another story, Simone also shared an image of her and Roettger in the present day as the grown-up friends can be seen grinning broadly side-by-side and draped in elegant white. Noting that from being friends as toddlers to now being married and on their separate ways, life has been a rollercoaster ride, Biles wrote, “cheers to building out our dreams even more“.

While the Texas native celebrates her companionship with one of her oldest pals, let’s not forget that she had to come a long way to reach the position where she is now. But that doesn’t mean it was always a rigorous task!

Simone Biles has come a long way after finding her calling

While her earliest years were a bumpy ride, with Simone and her siblings having to temporarily live in shelter care because of their mother’s inability to take care of them, things soon changed for the better, and how! Simone Biles was perhaps destined for gymnastics from her early days. After trying out her hands at the sport at the age of six during a day-care field trip, Biles soon joined Bannon’s Gymnastics under the tutelage of Aimee Boorman. Being under Boorman was the turning point of her life, and Biles discovered a joy in gymnastics that has since guided her life at every turn.

While she couldn’t make it to the national team for the 2012 Olympics because of her age, Simone put the world on attention in 2013 at the World Championships in Antwerp. That tournament left a significant impact on Biles while making her return to action after the fiasco at the 2020 Olympics, she was overwhelmed by the memories from a decade ago.

At the 2014 and 2015 World Championships, Simone bagged multiple gold medals in various events, securing her status as a gymnast to watch out for. And then, in Rio in 2016, Biles bolstered her claim to be among the elite names of the sport as she picked up five medals (including four golds). While her time in Tokyo didn’t end well thanks to he tryst with “the twisties”, Simone is eyeing an emphatic comeback on the grandest stage for months, winning four more golds at last year’s World Championships.

Now, as the world waits to see how she overcomes her nervous setback from four years ago, her place as one of the all-time greats is already beyond any doubt.