The world’s greatest gymnast is performing her signature move – the one nobody else dares attempt. As Simone Biles launches herself skyward for the Yurchenko double pike (now officially christened “the Biles II”), there’s a collective intake of breath inside the Paris arena. For a suspended moment, she rotates through space with impossible speed, her compact 4’8″ frame tucked into a tight ball, defying physics and expectations alike.
Three years earlier, this very skill – this very ability to orient herself in mid-air – had abandoned her at the Tokyo Olympics, leaving her vulnerable and disoriented in what gymnasts call “the twisties.” Back then, Biles shocked the sports world by stepping away from competition at the height of her powers. Today, as she sticks the landing with just a small hop, it’s the final evidence of perhaps the greatest comeback in modern Olympic history.
But to truly appreciate this moment of redemption, we need to go back much further – to a little girl caught in a broken system, whose future would be transformed by the simplest human need: the need to be loved.
Hunger and Hope: The Foster Care Years
Before she became America’s most decorated gymnast, Simone Biles was just another statistic in the foster care system. Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1997, young Simone entered the system as a toddler when her biological mother, Shanon Biles, proved unable to care for her four children while battling addiction.
“I was always hungry and afraid,” Biles would later recall of those uncertain years, a stark admission that reveals the vulnerability beneath the superhuman strength she’d later display. For three years, she bounced between temporary homes, experiencing the instability that haunts over 400,000 American children in foster care today.
Her salvation came in the form of her maternal grandfather Ronald Biles and his wife Nellie, who stepped forward to adopt 6-year-old Simone and her younger sister Adria in 2003. Her older siblings were adopted by another relative.
“You would do anything for these children… that’s when you know you are truly a mother,” Nellie later reflected on the moment her relationship with Simone transcended legal paperwork and became something sacred.
For Simone, the adoption represented what she has called a “turning point” that gave her “a second shot at life.” The stability of her new home in Spring, Texas, with parents who nurtured and believed in her, created the foundation upon which greatness could be built.
It was during a daycare field trip to a local gymnastics center that six-year-old Simone first revealed her extraordinary potential. As she bounced around the gym, mimicking the movements of the gymnasts training there, coaches immediately noticed something special. They sent a note home recommending she enroll in classes. Ronald and Nellie didn’t hesitate.
“It was history from there,” Nellie recalled. “She never missed a practice. Even if she was sick, I would tell her she should stay home, and she would say ‘No, I have to go to practice!'”
This early dedication, combined with her natural gifts of power and body awareness, would propel Simone toward a destiny neither she nor her adoptive parents could have imagined.
The Rise: Redefining Gymnastics
Under the early guidance of coach Aimee Boorman, Simone’s ascent through the gymnastics ranks was meteoric. By 2013, at just 16, she made her senior international debut, immediately capturing the all-around gold at the World Championships in Antwerp.
What set Biles apart wasn’t just that she won, but how she won. Most elite female gymnasts excel through graceful precision and technical mastery. Simone brought something entirely different: raw, explosive power combined with unprecedented difficulty. She didn’t just execute routines – she demolished them, routinely outscoring competitors by margins that left commentators struggling for new superlatives.
“She’s not competing against other gymnasts anymore,” Olympic champion Nastia Liukin once observed. “She’s competing against herself and the record books.”
Those record books would need constant revision. Between 2013 and 2015, Biles won three consecutive World all-around championships, a feat never before accomplished. She dominated on floor exercise, where her signature double layout with a half-twist (now called “the Biles”) showcased both her power and innovation.
When she arrived at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles was already considered the most talented gymnast in history – but she still needed Olympic gold to cement her legacy. What followed was one of the most dominant Olympic performances ever, as she captured four gold medals (team, all-around, vault, and floor) plus a bronze on balance beam. No female gymnast had claimed four golds in a single Games since 1972.
The “Final Five” U.S. team, with Biles as its anchor, represented a pinnacle of American gymnastics dominance. Simone’s brilliance made her a global superstar, with Time Magazine naming her among the most influential people in the world. She returned home to a champion’s welcome, complete with commercial endorsements, magazine covers, and an autobiography.
After taking a planned break in 2017, Biles returned in 2018 with even more difficult skills in her arsenal. Despite battling a kidney stone during the 2018 World Championships – which she jokingly dubbed the “Championships Morgan” – she still dominated the competition. By 2019, she was unveiling moves of such difficulty that the international gymnastics federation seemed reluctant to award them full value, fearing other gymnasts might risk injury attempting them.
As she prepared for the Tokyo Olympics, postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic, Biles appeared unstoppable. She had five skills named after her in the sport’s code of points. She hadn’t lost an all-around competition in eight years. The only question seemed to be by how much she would win.
No one, least of all Simone herself, could have predicted what would happen next.
Simone Biles: When the Mind Says No
The cracks first appeared during Olympic qualifications in Tokyo. Though Biles qualified for all individual finals, she made uncharacteristic errors. Something seemed off.
Then came the team final on July 27, 2021. On her first apparatus, vault, Simone planned a difficult Amanar (2.5 twisting Yurchenko). But mid-air, something terrifying happened – she lost awareness of where she was, completing only 1.5 twists before landing awkwardly, nearly stumbling off the mat.
Minutes later, she made a decision that would reverberate through the sports world: she withdrew from the competition. In subsequent days, she would also withdraw from the all-around, vault, floor, and uneven bar finals.
Biles explained that she was experiencing “the twisties” – a dangerous mental block where a gymnast loses spatial awareness mid-air. As TIME Magazine explained, “all of a sudden, there’s a disconnect in the feedback loop… the brain and body are no longer communicating efficiently.” For a gymnast whose routines involve multiple flips and twists, this disconnect isn’t just scary – it’s potentially catastrophic.
“Seriously cannot comprehend how to twist,” Biles posted on social media. “It’s honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind and body in sync.”
The backlash was swift. Some commentators labeled her a quitter, questioning her mental toughness. But those within gymnastics understood the gravity of the situation. Former Olympian Aly Raisman defended her teammate: “When you get lost in the air, you don’t have a choice. If she had continued, she could have been paralyzed.”
In press conferences, a vulnerable Simone Biles explained her decision with remarkable poise: “My mental and physical health is above all the medals that I could ever win.” She remained with her team, becoming their loudest cheerleader as Sunisa Lee stepped up to win the all-around gold that Simone Biles had been favored to claim.
What initially appeared as a moment of weakness gradually revealed itself as extraordinary strength. By choosing her well-being over glory, Simone Biles had done something revolutionary in elite sports: she had publicly acknowledged vulnerability and prioritized mental health on the biggest stage imaginable.
“I was so nervous about getting injured physically that I kind of neglected my mental health,” she would later reflect. Unlike a physical injury with a clear timeline, “they tell you three to six weeks for a bone injury… but for this, there were no time tells.”
As the Olympics continued, public opinion shifted. Fellow athletes, including swimming legend Michael Phelps (who had battled his own mental health demons), praised her courage. Medical professionals pointed out that pushing through the twisties could have resulted in catastrophic injury. What had begun as a story of withdrawal became a watershed moment for mental health awareness in sports.
But the question lingered: Would Simone Biles ever return to elite gymnastics? And if she did, could she ever recapture her former brilliance?
The Rebuild: Finding Joy Again
For nearly two years after Tokyo, Simone Biles stepped away from competitive gymnastics. She focused on healing – both mentally and emotionally – through what she has described as a multi-faceted approach.
First came therapy, which she embraced “religiously” – at least once a week – working through the anxiety and pressure that had built to a breaking point. “Three years ago, I never thought I’d step foot on the gymnastics floor again,” she would later tell reporters.
She leaned on her Catholic faith, finding solace in prayer and the belief that her talent was a gift meant to be used. She celebrated personal milestones, getting engaged to NFL player Jonathan Owens in 2022 and marrying him in 2023.
And gradually, with the gentle encouragement of coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi, she found her way back to the gym – this time on her own terms.
“We took things one day at a time,” Cecile Landi explained. No pressure, no expectations. Just rediscovering the joy that had drawn a six-year-old Simone to the sport in the first place.
When Simone Biles finally returned to competition at the 2023 U.S. Classic, no one knew quite what to expect. What they witnessed was astonishing: not just a return, but a renaissance. She dominated the competition, looking stronger and more confident than ever.
Weeks later, she claimed her eighth U.S. national all-around title, breaking a 90-year record. But something had changed. The woman who once carried the weight of perfection now radiated joy. After one routine, cameras caught her beaming with relief, telling her coaches, “I survived!” – a lighthearted acknowledgment of her journey back from the darkness.
By the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp – fittingly, the same city where she’d won her first world title a decade earlier – Simone Biles was back on top of the podium. She captured five medals, including four golds, and successfully performed the Yurchenko double pike vault that would later bear her name as “the Biles II.”
The symbolism was unmistakable. The very skill that represented her greatest fear – twisting through the air – had become her triumph.
The Resurrection: Paris Glory
When Simone Biles arrived in Paris for the 2024 Olympics, the narrative had shifted. No longer was she simply the unbeatable champion of Rio; she was now a symbol of resilience, a woman who had faced her demons and returned stronger.
At 27 – ancient by elite gymnastics standards – she appeared more at peace than ever. She continued her therapy sessions even during the Games, revealing that she’d had a teletherapy appointment at 7 a.m. on the morning of the all-around final.
“I was just making sure I’m mentally well,” she explained, “and I think you see that out on the competition floor.”
What the world saw was nothing short of magnificent. Simone Biles led the U.S. women to team gold on July 30, displaying both technical brilliance and genuine joy. Two days later, she reclaimed the individual all-around title in a thrilling duel with Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.
In apparatus finals, she added vault gold and floor exercise silver, bringing her career Olympic medal count to 11 – tying her as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast of all time. Combined with her 30 World Championship medals (23 gold), Biles’ total of 41 major medals surpasses any gymnast in history, male or female.
But statistics tell only part of the story. What made Simone’s Paris performance transcendent wasn’t just the medals, but the journey they represented. Each stuck landing, each perfect pirouette, each confident smile testified to a champion who had transformed her greatest weakness into her greatest strength.
“I’m proud of the work I put in to even compete here,” she said in Paris. “I never thought I’d be on a world stage again, competing.”
Simone Biles’ Legacy Beyond Medals
As Simone Biles lands the final tumbling pass of her Olympic career (though at 27, she hasn’t ruled out continuing), her legacy extends far beyond medals and named skills.
She has redefined what greatness looks like in sports. By demonstrating that true strength includes acknowledging vulnerability, she has changed the conversation around mental health for athletes everywhere. Champions who follow in her footsteps will compete in a world where prioritizing mental wellness isn’t seen as weakness, but wisdom.
For the millions of children in foster care, Simone Biles represents living proof that early challenges don’t define destiny. Through her foundation work with foster children, she reminds them that family isn’t always biological, and that love can rewrite the odds.
For Black gymnasts in a sport historically dominated by white athletes, Biles has shattered barriers while remaining unapologetically herself—dancing between routines, speaking her mind, and bringing authenticity to a discipline often characterized by rigid perfectionism.
“Don’t wait until you’ve reached your goal to be proud of yourself,” Simone Biles once advised. “Be proud of every step you take toward that goal.” It’s a philosophy she has embodied in her journey from foster care to Olympic immortality.
Perhaps the most revealing moment of Simone’s Paris triumph came not on the medal podium, but in a quiet moment after competition. When asked what message she would send to her younger self—that scared little girl in foster care—Simone paused thoughtfully.
“I would tell her she’s going to be okay,” she said simply. “More than okay.”
For Simone Biles, the greatest victory wasn’t gold medals or standing ovations. It was becoming the champion of her own story—a story still being written, still inspiring millions, and still soaring to heights no one thought possible.
Simone Biles’ journey reminds us that true greatness often emerges not from flawless triumphs, but from the courage to rise after a fall. If stories of extraordinary comebacks move you, don’t miss the remarkable return of Japanese snowboarder Yuto Totsuka – who went from a devastating Olympic crash to standing on the podium with a silver medal. Read his story here.
Photo: Por Agência Brasil Fotografias – EUA levam ouro na ginástica artística feminina; Brasil fica em 8º lugar, CC BY 2.0,
