50 Fun Facts About Simone Biles

In which US city was Simone Biles born?

She was born on 14 March 1997, one of several siblings who spent time in foster care.

How many Olympic medals has Biles won?

Combined with 30 World Championship medals, that makes her the most decorated gymnast in history.

Which gymnast is the only woman with more Olympic medals than Biles?

Biles is tied with Čáslavská for second on the all-time list.

What nickname was given to the gold-medal-winning 2016 US Olympic team that Biles led?

The 2024 Paris team was dubbed the Golden Girls.

What did Biles call the condition that made her withdraw from most of the Tokyo 2020 competition?

It is a temporary loss of proprioception while performing twisting elements.

What nickname did the US team earn for its silver medal in Tokyo after Biles withdrew?

Biles returned to win bronze on balance beam.

How many times has Biles won the World all-around title?

In 2024 she became the oldest female gymnast ever to win it.

In which two years did Biles win all five gold medals at a single World Championships?

She is a seven-time world champion on vault, beam and floor and a two-time champion on bars.

Whose 90-year-old record did Biles break in 2023 by winning an eighth US all-around title?

That was her first year back after the two-year break following Tokyo.

How many Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year awards had Biles won by the end of 2025?

She won in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2025, plus Comeback of the Year in 2024.

Who adopted Simone and her sister Adria in 2003?

Ron and Nellie Biles had begun caring for the children north of Houston in 2000.

Biles holds citizenship of which Central American country through her adoptive mother?

She considers it her second home.

In which Houston suburb did Biles grow up?

She attended Benfer Elementary School before switching to home schooling in 2012.

How did Biles first try gymnastics at age six?

The instructors suggested she keep going, and she enrolled at Bannon's Gymnastics.

Who was Biles's longtime first coach, from age eight through the Rio Olympics?

Boorman moved to Florida after 2016, and Biles hired Laurent Landi in 2017.

Which university did Biles commit to before turning professional in 2015?

Turning pro meant forfeiting her NCAA eligibility.

Why did Biles switch from public school to home schooling in 2012?

She earned her high-school diploma in mid-2015.

At which 2013 championships did Biles, aged 16, win her first world all-around title?

She became the first African American woman to win the title.

After a poor 2013 US Classic, whom did Biles consult, crediting them with launching her dominance?

She had fallen several times and twisted her ankle on floor.

With her 2015 title in Glasgow, Biles became the first woman to do what?

Her 10 world golds by then were the most by any woman.

How many gold medals did Biles win at the Rio 2016 Olympics?

She was the first quadruple gold medallist in women's gymnastics at one Games since Ecaterina Szabo in 1984.

What honour did Biles receive at the Rio closing ceremony?

She was the first American female gymnast to be flag bearer.

After Russian hackers leaked her medical records in 2016, Biles revealed she takes medication for what?

She had a therapeutic use exemption and was applauded for opening up.

What was the title of Biles's 2016 autobiography, later a Lifetime biopic?

It topped the New York Times young adult bestseller list in January 2017.

Where did Biles finish on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars in 2017?

She was paired with Sasha Farber and eliminated a week before the finals.

What sent Biles to an emergency room the night before qualifying at the 2018 Worlds in Doha?

She checked herself out once appendicitis was ruled out and qualified first the next day.

Which honour did Biles and the other survivors of Larry Nassar receive at the 2018 ESPYs?

She wore a teal leotard she designed to honour survivors at that year's nationals.

Whose all-time record for World Championship medals did Biles break in 2019?

Her 24th world medal, on beam in Stuttgart, made her the sole record holder for men or women.

What is the Biles II on floor exercise?

She debuted it at the 2019 Worlds in Stuttgart.

What vault did Biles become the first woman to complete, at the 2021 US Classic?

It was given the highest preliminary D-score in women's gymnastics.

What preliminary difficulty score was assigned to the Biles II vault?

It made it the highest-valued vault in women's gymnastics.

On which apparatus had Biles never lost her air awareness before Tokyo?

She withdrew after the first rotation of the team final.

For what reason was Biles named to the Time 100 list in September 2021?

Earlier that year she criticised ESPN's all-male Greatest of All Time photo.

What distinction did Biles hold when she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022?

President Biden honoured 17 people that day, including Megan Rapinoe.

Who took silver behind Biles in the 2023 world all-around final?

Her sixth world all-around gold made her the most successful gymnast ever at Olympics and Worlds combined.

By how many points did Biles miss floor gold in Paris, ending a streak of 10 international floor titles?

Six tenths of out-of-bounds deductions cost her the title.

Who was the defending Olympic all-around champion Biles beat at Paris 2024?

An error on bars left her third after two rotations before she stormed back on beam and floor.

Which two skills did she perform to win Paris 2024 vault gold?

She became the second woman after Čáslavská to win two Olympic vault titles.

Why did Biles lose three tenths in the Paris beam final besides falling?

She finished fifth, her first time off the podium in nine Olympic or World beam finals.

What skill did Biles submit for the uneven bars code of points before Paris but never compete?

It would have made her the only woman with a named skill on every apparatus.

Which sports agency, which also represents Michael Phelps, did Biles sign with in 2015?

She announced her Nike sponsorship later that year and later moved to Athleta.

Which US Navy aircraft carrier did Biles become a sponsor of, alongside Katie Ledecky, in 2016?

They were the first Olympians given the honour.

How did Biles meet her husband, NFL safety Jonathan Owens?

They began dating in August 2020 and married on 22 April 2023.

For which NFL team was Owens playing when he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2018?

He later played for the Texans, Packers, Bears and Colts.

What was Biles's first tattoo, done after the 2016 Olympics?

By mid-2024 she had seven, including 'I Shall Rise' on her clavicle.

How many World Championship medals has Biles won, making her the most decorated gymnast in history?

All but seven of them are gold, and she has eleven Olympic medals on top.

Which coach, formerly of Madison Kocian, did Biles hire in October 2017 for her comeback?

Her longtime coach Aimee Boorman had moved to Florida after the Rio Games.

Biles became the second woman to win two Olympic vault titles, after which legendary gymnast?

She won the Paris 2024 vault final with her Yurchenko double pike and a Cheng, eight years after her Rio title.

After her day-care field trip, six-year-old Biles enrolled in a training programme at which gym?

She began training with coach Aimee Boorman there at age eight.

In 2025 Biles received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from a school in which city?

The honour came a month after her fifth Laureus award and fourth Sportswoman of the Year title.