Gregory Zuckerman - Rising Above: Inspiring Women in Sports

A t the age of two, Simone Biles was taken from her mother.

Shanon Biles, who suffered from drug and alcohol addictions, never properly cared for Simone and her three other kids. Simones father had abandoned the family and wasnt around. With Shanon absent much of the time, too often there was no one looking after the children.

Shanon was arrested multiple times during Simones childhood. Twice, Shanon was caught stealing cases of baby formula at a local Target store; another time she was arrested for shoplifting childrens clothing. Since her four children were left alone so often, regularly playing in the streets in their Columbus, Ohio, neighborhood with no supervision, neighbors began calling social services, urging the city to step in to help Simone and her siblings.

Some of Simones earliest memories were of hunger pangs. Even when she visited relatives, Simone had a hard time finding enough to eat. Once, she visited her uncle and poured tap water into a bowl of cereal because there was no milk in the home.

Even at a young age, Simone became frustrated by her living conditions.

For most girls, a visit from a neighborhood cat brings joy. But when a local cat sauntered by Simones yard, she felt resentmentthe cat seemed content and well fed even as Simone and her siblings struggled for food. Years later, Simone would still feel antipathy toward cats, though she knew her feelings werent justified.

This cat was always being fedand at the time, we were hungry a lot, so I was always kind of mad at this cat, Simone recalls in her book, Courage to Soar.

One day, a social worker came and sat with the four kids on the front steps of their house.

Were placing you kids in foster care so Shanon can try to get better, the social worker said.

As they sat in the back of the car, driving away from their home, Simone and her siblings were too scared to speak, a searing memory that remained with Simone the rest of her life.

Little Simone was frightened as she prepared for the unknown, moving in with a group of strangers. Simone soon realized she had nothing to worry about. Living with her foster family, Simone and her siblings enjoyed three full meals a day for the first time and got to play with a backyard swing. Simone remembers soaring high and doing backflips after jumping off the swing midair, amazing onlookers who couldnt believe someone so young was attempting such daring tricks. Her foster parents, whom Simone called Miss Doris and Mr. Leo, wouldnt let little Simone jump on their trampoline, however, because they were worried she might get injured. Simone watched with envy as the familys older, biological children somersaulted with glee off the trampoline.

Simones foster parents were doing their best to keep us safe but I just knew I could do the moves the older kids did, Simone recalls. I was always running and jumping, cartwheeling, and somersaulting.

On Christmas Eve 2002, when Simone was five, she got a real surprise. Her grandfather Ron Biles brought her and her siblings to live with him and his second wife, Nellie, in Spring, Texas, about thirty miles from Houston.

It wasnt supposed to be a permanent thing. The family hoped Simones mother could kick her addictions and learn to care for her kids. But an attempted reunion ended after Shanon failed new drug tests. The following year, Simones grandparents legally adopted her, along with her younger sister, Adria, while their two siblings moved in with Rons sister.

At first, Nellie had been reluctant to adopt the girls, unsure how theyd integrate with her existing family. She also worried she wouldnt be a good mother. Nellie prayed that she could love Simone and her sister as much as she loved her own sons.

It turned out there was no need for concern. I dont know the exact date [it happened], Nellie says, but my heart just made room for Simone and her siblings.

Simone felt loved. She began calling her grandparents Mom and Dad. Finally, she was well fed and cared for.

I was happy, she says. I knew because the knots I usually felt in my tummy were gone.

There even was a trampoline in the backyard of her new home. Simone bounced, twirled, flipped, and somersaulted for hours, her beaded braids flying. She tried different moves, some quite daring, to see if she could land on her feet. She usually succeeded.

Simones situation was unusual, but she embraced it. I thought every kid was adopted... to me its just normal, she says. I want to know why my mother did what she did. But those arent questions for me because that was her lifestyle [before I was] even born.

One day, when Simone was five, her day care center decided to take the kids on a field trip to a farm. It rained that day, however, so they changed their plans and headed for a gym called Bannons Gymnastix in nearby Houston.

From the moment she entered the gym, Simone was enthralled. She was tiny for her age but the equipment seemed perfect for her sizethere were low beams and a low bar along with floor vaults and mats. Simone saw someone jump backward, use her hands, and then land while standing uprightsomething gymnasts called a back handspringso she tried her own backflip. Simone pulled it off, over and over again, landing on her feet each time and even adding a little twist at the end.