Once a victim of sexual abuse in the US gymnastics team, Simone Biles rose from adversity to glory and is experiencing her final peak days at the Olympics.

Before Simone Biles came along, the United States had never been highly regarded in gymnastics. This sport was almost exclusively the domain of China, Japan, and some Eastern European countries (Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, etc.).

But the Americans trained Simone Biles, before this girl made the biggest contribution to helping American gymnastics transform, rising to the position of a powerhouse in this sport at the Olympics.
American gymnastics champion Simone Biles (Photo: Reuters).

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, when she was only 19 years old, Simone Biles surprised the world by winning 4 gold medals in gymnastics and one bronze medal.

Five years later, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (the 2020 Olympics actually take place in 2021), Simone Biles continues to be the center of attention at the Olympics and around the world, in gymnastics. However, this time she became the center of attention in a different way.

Simone Biles bravely stood up to denounce the sexual abuse scandals in the US gymnastics team, in which she was one of the victims.
She once shed tears denouncing the reality of sexual abuse in the US gymnastics team (Photo: Reuters).

Also at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, after the above-mentioned sexual abuse scandals were widely reported by the media globally, Simone Biles suddenly refused to compete in 5 events for the US Gymnastics team.

That’s why Simone Biles didn’t win any gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she only had one silver medal and one bronze medal, and the US team couldn’t get a high position.

It wasn’t until the 2024 Paris Olympics that Simone Biles returned to her former self. Up until now, Simone Biles has contributed to all 3 gold medals (women’s team, women’s all-around, and women’s vault) that the US gymnastics team won at this year’s Olympics, along with another silver medal (floor exercise).
This girl inspires American children in gymnastics (Photo: Reuters).

The U.S. gymnastics team is leading the way at the Paris Olympics. However, even at the height of its glory, there are some signs that Simone Biles is starting to reach the other side of her career.

In the floor exercise event where Simone Biles won silver on the evening of August 5, she made a mistake by stepping over the line when landing after a somersault. That is the reason why the American girl lost points and the gold medal.

Not only that, in the balance beam event on the evening of August 5, Simone Biles fell off the platform, a rare mistake for an athlete at the highest level in the world like Simone Biles. She also lost the medal in this event.
Simone Biles owns a huge collection of gold medals from the Olympics and world championships (Photo: Reuters).

These are mistakes that partly reflect Simone Biles’s age and gradual loss of focus. At 27, the 2024 Paris Olympics could be her last.

Unlike many other sports , in gymnastics, athletes find it difficult to maintain peak performance after the age of 30, due to the “aging” of bones and muscle groups, leading to a significant decrease in their flexibility and agility.

Therefore, it is hard to believe that in the Olympics 4 years from now, Simone, at the age of 31, will still be at the top of the world gymnastics. But no matter what, the name Simone Biles will still be in the history of American gymnastics in particular, and the history of world gymnastics in general.

She is the one who completely changed the face of American Gymnastics, inspiring many American children to practice and compete in Gymnastics, with the belief that American Gymnastics can absolutely win an Olympic gold medal.

Simone Biles herself can close her glorious career with a total of 7 Olympic gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals, along with 23 world gold medals, 4 silver medals and 3 bronze medals. An impressive achievement!