Lori Mortensen - Simone Biles: Gymnastics Star (Women Sports Stars)

Each year gymnasts compete at the USA Gymnastics National Championships. Only the top, or elite, gymnasts can compete. Winners from this competition join the National Team. Team members then have the opportunity to compete at the World Championships and the Olympics. The name of the competition changes depending on who the sponsor is.

Simone returned to the hotel with her family. Then she broke down and cried. Now she knew she wasnt good enough. Shed let everyone down, including herself. Her family tried to make her feel better, but she only sank deeper into despair.

That night, as she sobbed in the bathroom, her brother called from Texas. What he said helped Simone see things differently. Fourteenth place wasnt the end of the world. It meant she was almost there . She was that good , and her day would come. This was her year to get better. His words gave Simone hope.

A scene from the 2011 Visa Championship in St. Paul, Minnesota

Since then, Simone has rocked the gymnastics world. Shes won four Olympic gold medals. She is also the first female gymnast to win three World Championships in a row! Competitors agree shes in a league by herself. After racking up 19 international medals, she is the most decorated female gymnast in history.

... I missed making the National Team, and I was very sad. I cried a lot.... So it was very hard, but then it was for the better because I went back to the gym and changed my mind-set.

Simone Biles interview with Tavis Smiley, December 8, 2016

Simones road to gymnastic superstardom got off to a rocky start. She was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio. Her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Simone was the third of four children. When Simone was 3 years old, social services placed the children in foster care.

Even at age 3, Simone was strong, fast, and fearless. Whatever her older brother did, she did it too. Swing way up high? No problem. Backflips off mailboxes? Easy! As Simone sailed through the air, she felt like she was flying.

A few months after Simone went to foster care, her grandparents took her home to Texas. Ron and Nellie Biles officially adopted Simone when she was 6 years old, along with her little sister. An aunt in Ohio adopted Simones older siblings.

Ron and Nellie Biles clap as Simone wins an Olympic gold medal in 2016.

FACT

Some gymnasts count as they tumble, twist, and flip through the air to keep track of where they are. Not Simone. She never gets lost.

Field Trip

That summer, Simone went on a field trip that changed her life. Teachers at her day care planned to take the children to visit a farm, but it rained that day. Instead they went to Bannons Gymnastix down the street. For Simone, it was a dream come true. Suddenly, she was in a gymnasium filled with bars, beams, and vaults. Simone copied the gymnasts jumping, flipping, and somersaulting, just like shed copied her brother.

A coach noticed her right away. Who was this small, brave girl tumbling through the air? The coach sent her home with a letter inviting her to take classes. Simone began training on balance beam, uneven bars, floor exercise, and vault twice a week. Soon she was spending three or four hours a day in the gym. Nothing was as thrilling as soaring high in the air and returning to the earth just right.

Simone with Aimee Boorman, 2016

FACT

Simone began training with Coach Aimee Boorman at Gymnastix when she was 8 years old. To reach elite level, Simone also trained with Marta Karolyi at the same time.

Olympic Dreams

As Simones skills grew, so did her dreams. When she was 11 years old, she imagined being on the National Team and competing in the Olympics. The 2012 London games were still four years away. And she would only be 15. She had to be 16 to compete. That meant shed have to wait for the 2016 Olympics, eight years away. By then shed be 19. Simone knew some gymnasts got injured. They had to quit. Sometimes gymnasts lost their passion for the sport. Would that happen to her?

Simone thought about her future. One night she opened her diary. I dont know if I will make it, she wrote with a sigh. She turned off the light and tried to sleep. But she couldnt. She opened her diary again. I WANT TO GO THE FARTHEST I CAN, she added.

The 2008 U.S. gymnastics womens team won gold. Watching them inspired Simone.

FACT

Simone can climb 20 feet (6.1 meters) up a rope in five seconds, using just her arms. Its part of her warm-up.

CHAPTER 3

Perfection

To go the farthest, Simone had to learn more difficult skills. Over the next few years, Simones efforts paid off. In 2011 Coach Marta Karolyi invited Simone to her gymnastics summer camp. It was a huge step toward Simones Olympic goals. Karolyis name was legendary. Her gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, scored the first perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Another Karolyi gymnast, Mary Lou Retton, did it again at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Karolyis summer camp would be challenging for Simone. Serious gymnasts didnt joke around. They got down to business. Drills, drills, and more drills. We strive for perfection here, said Karolyi. If thats not your goal, then youre in the wrong place.