If that sounds like hyperbole, just listen to this, she hasn’t lost a gymnastics all-around competition in eight years and in a sport where the top contenders are usually separated by mere decimal points, she wins by whole numbers.
She was the first woman to do moves on the floor, vault and beam that are now named after her.
As the Tokyo Olympics approached, a documentary team from Facebook followed Biles who says she was at her peak and better than ever.
But then I talked to my coaches and Cecile especially was like, “You know what, Simone? You’ve trained so hard for this.
The way she bounds into the air and pounds onto the mat, the threat of an injury is always lurking.
Laurent Landi: It’s very, very challenging.
There is so much power in her run she can fit in more skills and pile up more points.
Like, if you take a globe and you spin it, it goes so fast you can’t really see, and that’s how it feels.
Simone Biles: I remember we didn’t really have a lot of food.
I mean, just the thought of them being in foster care it just sounded so bad, and at that time we had the ability to take care of them.
Seeing Simone somersaulting around their living room, her new parents put her in gymnastics out of self preservation.
But for years her big personality didn’t mesh with legendary but austere Olympic coach Martha Karolyi.
Because I think that was the misconception, was you couldn’t be fun, have a personality, and be good.
Simone Biles: Granted, now, I feel like we can’t really get in trouble for this.
Simone Biles: I’ve never told that to anybody, like, on film or anything.
But while Biles was taking a victory lap around America, the Indianapolis Star Newspaper exposed the darkest secret in gymnastics.
Simone Biles: Because it was so hard for me to even say it out loud, that I knew how hard, like, it crushed me.
Two of Simone’s Olympic teammates were among the dozens of women who publicly disclosed that Nassar had abused them.
And she said, ‘Mom, I have to talk to you.’ And I know Simone well, and I knew …
In a statement to 60 Minutes, the new president and CEO of USA Gymnastics said: “We recognize how deeply we have broken the trust of our athletes and community, and are working hard to build that trust back.” As the Tokyo Olympics draw closer, no one may be working harder than Simone Biles.
And people always question, like, ‘If you’re so good and you’re so ahead of the game, why do you keep upgrading?’ And it’s like, because it’s for me.
In addition to the 2017 creation of the U.S Center for SafeSport, a safe and confidential place to report abuse and other misconduct, the USOPC announced in 2019 the most sweeping governance reforms in nearly two decades, underscoring a commitment to an athlete-centric culture, athlete representation, and athlete safety.
And while we know that this kind of meaningful and lasting culture change does not happen overnight, we will keep working toward that goal until every member feels supported, included, safe and empowered.