Tag

Gymnastics

Browsing

Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport, has unlocked another milestone off the mat. The 26-year old has been nominated for her first ever People’s Choice Athlete of the Year award.

Previously, Biles had been nominated for the People’s Choice Game Changer award thrice, and won in both 2019 and 2021. For the American, this nomination comes on the heels of an incredible 2023.

This past year saw Simone Biles make a comeback to her sport after a two-year hiatus that began after the Tokyo Olympics. On her first event back, the 2023 US Classics, the gymnast looked like she’d never left.

simone biles

She kicked her campaign off with multiple incredible performances, before going on to win a gold in the all-around, balance beam and floor, as well as a bronze on the uneven bars. She even debuted her Yurchenko Double Pike vault, making history as the first gymnast to ever land that move in competition.

Next up, Simone Biles displayed her prowess on the international stage, at the 2023 Antwerp Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. At the end of the competition, Biles walked away with four golds and a silver, taking her total World Championships medal to 34. This further cemented her place as the most decorated gymnast in history.

While in Belgium, the American also performed the Yurchenko Double Pike vault, and had the move officially renamed the Biles II, making it the fifth skill to be named after her.

Simone Biles is joined by Coco Gauff, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Sabrina Ionescu, Stephen Curry and Travis Kelce in being nominated for the People’s Choice Athlete of the Year award.

American Simone Biles said she felt like a failure following a disappointing 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Biles was aiming for six gold medals at the Games, which took place in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, the 26-year-old won a silver and bronze as she suffered with the ‘twisties’, which gymnasts describe as a kind of mental block, in Japan.

“I wish I could sit here and tell you it was glorious,” Biles told Vanity Fair magazine., external

“When I took a break after 2016 [Rio Olympics], I had the time of my life. I was doing anything and everything.

“But after 2020, it was kind of depressing until I started therapy and got help.

“I felt like a failure.”

Simone Biles

Biles won four gold medals at the Games in Rio as she won the all-round, vault, floor and team events.

In Tokyo, she won a silver in the team event and bronze in the beam but pulled out of four events to prioritise her mental health as she struggled with the ‘twisties’.

“Even though I was empowering so many people and speaking out about mental health, every time I talked about my experience in Tokyo – because it obviously didn’t go the way that I had planned – it stung a little bit. But all in all, it was the best decision,” added Biles.

She returned to gymnastics following a two-year break when she won the all-round title at the US Classic.

Biles went on to win four gold medals at the World Championships in Belgium in 2023 and, in winning her second, became the most decorated gymnast in history with a total of 34 world and Olympic medals.

On making the Olympics in Paris this year, she said: “If I don’t make it to Paris, it won’t absolutely crush me.”

Simone Biles has admitted she found it ‘weird’ to be watching her husband for the Green Bay Packers‘ victory over the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season.

The U.S gymnast, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, is used to people watching her perform in front of millions. Instead, she swapped the spotlight for a seat in th

It just so happened that Taylor Swift would be in the opposite box supporting her beau Travis Kelce, who plays as a tight end for the Chiefs.

Biles, meanwhile, was fully behind her man Jonathan Owens as they looked to claim an important victory. One of Biles and Swift would go home with a happy partner, and on this occasion, the Packers impressed despite Kelce‘s return of four catches for 81 yards.

simone biles

Owens, who plays as a safety and made five tackles, came out on the winning side as his team edged it 27-19 on December 4. They eventually closed out the regular season with a 9-8 record before the playoffs.

While Swift has been seen at eight Chiefs games this season, Biles admitted she felt somewhat out of her comfort zone watching from the stands, adding it was ‘definitely not’ her activity.

“It’s a little bit weird because I’m like, this is definitely not my gig, but I know how excited [the fans] are,” Biles said.

“There was no selfie, and I’m not sure they were exactly happy that the Packers were beating them.”

Simone Biles opens up wedding to Jonathan Owens

Owens, who previously admitted he had no clue who Biles was when they met, first found her on the invite-only dating app, Raya, back in 2020.

They tied the knot in April 2023 in an intimate courthouse ceremony in Houston before repeating their nuptials in Mexico – a memory Biles says was the most fun she has ever had.

e VIP box to catch a game of NFL.

“We could have had so many more people, but we really wanted to make it as intimate and as special as possible,” Biles told Vanity Fair. “I was like, ‘Not to knock your football coach from third grade, but baby, when was the last time you talked to him?'”

She added: “I’ve never had so much fun in my life. I was 19 when I won my first Olympics, and I was like, How am I supposed to top this? My wedding topped it. It was the greatest feeling ever.”

The American superstar graces the February cover of Vanity Fair magazine

The world’s most decorated gymnast ever Simone Biles made her return to gymnastics following a hiatus after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2023 look easy, as she soared to a record eighth U.S. all-around crown and a sixth global title weeks later.

But, the 26-year-old says appearances may not be exactly as they seem.

“I felt like I was back in my element and it was exciting,” Biles told Vanity Fair magazine for its February issue of which she graces the cover. “But I was truly petrified. I had the training to back it up because we worked really hard, [but] I wasn’t as confident or as comfortable as I wanted to be.”
simone biles

Despite the nerves, Biles won five medals including four golds at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, site of her first global championships a decade earlier.

With 37 World and Olympic medals, Biles is the most decorated athlete the sport has ever seen. Her Antwerp haul pushed her past previous record holder Vitaly Scherbo’s 33 career medals.

While Biles has yet to announce her competition schedule for 2024, it’s likely fans may have to wait until May’s U.S. Classic to see the superstar back in action.

 

Simone Biles says a return to the Olympics in Paris this summer is not certain, and she would not be crushed if she did not go to the Games. The American became the most decorated athlete in the history of the sport at the World Championships last year, winning four gold medals in Antwerp at her first major event since taking a break for her mental health.

Simone Biles has raised questions about whether she will compete at the Paris Olympics, admitting it would not “absolutely crush” her if she did not go to a third Games.
The American is by some way the biggest name in gymnastics, and made history in her comeback from a long break out of top-level competition by winning four golds at the World Championships in Antwerp last year.
Biles won three individual gold medals and one for her team to become the most decorated athlete in the history of her sport, with a combined 37 medals across the Olympics and World Championships.
The 26-year-old also became the first woman to successfully land the , a move which is now named after her.
Biles had taken time out from the sport after speaking openly about the mental difficulties she dealt with at the Tokyo Games, when she suffered with what is known as the ‘twisties’, an issue which causes a mental block to routines gymnasts could often do with their eyes closed.
She returned to take bronze in the balance beam competition, but any question around whether she has unfinished business at the Olympics has been denied by Biles, who has seven medals from two previous Games, including four golds.
Simone Biles
“If I don’t make it to Paris, it won’t absolutely crush me,” she told Vanity Fair.
Asked “so nothing definitive”, Biles then replied: “Correct”.
Biles has and told the same publication that she has been enjoying her return to training more than she expected.
“I owe that to my team-mates,” she said
“I didn’t think I’d be having fun like this at my age in the gym, but they keep it fun. They’ve been bigger rocks to me than they know.”

For ‘Vanity Fair,’ Simone Biles opened up about her marriage with Jonathan Owens and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Simone Biles revealed that marrying her husband, Jonathan Owens, brought her more joy than her first Olympic victory in 2016.

“I’ve never had so much fun in my life,” she told Vanity Fair in an interview published today (Jan. 10) while reflecting on her wedding. “It was the greatest feeling ever.”

Biles and Owens emphasized the importance of their intimate wedding. The former explained, “We could have had so many more people, but we really wanted to make it as intimate and as special as possible. I was like, ‘Not to knock your football coach from third grade, but baby, when was the last time you talked to him?’”

The couple tied the knot in April 2023 after famously meeting in 2020 on the invite-only dating app Raya. Despite being the most decorated gymnast of all time, Owens said he didn’t know who Biles was then.

Simone Biles

Last month, their relationship became a topic of debate after Owens called himself “the catch” on “The Pivot” podcast. When asked, “How in the hell did you pull Simone Biles?” he replied, “It’s really how she pulled me, man, that’s the question.”

A few days later, Biles weighed in on the discourse about her private life. She tweeted, “Are y’all done yet?” Former NFL player and host Ryan Clark also offered his take. He explained, “He talked about the way Simone Biles has changed his life, how she has helped him, [and] how much their love, and their journey and their story [are] all tied together.”

Elsewhere in her chat with Vanity Fair, the six-time all-around world champion spoke about her potential participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Although eager to compete, she admitted that not making it wouldn’t devastate her.

Biles also mentioned extending her focus beyond gymnastics and working with Friends of the Children. The nonprofit pairs foster children with long-term mentors. “I’ll always advocate for foster kids,” she said. “I was a foster kid, and something very out of the ordinary happened to me.

Seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles recently shared her views on handling the fame she gained in the initial years of her gymnastics career. The 26-year-old stated that while her fame cannot be compared to someone like Taylor Swift, it’s still somewhat difficult to handle at times.

Biles rose to immense fame during the 2013 World Championship in Antwerp. At the age of 16, she became the first African-American gymnast to win the all-around title at the international championship. Biles’ popularity continued to soar when she won four gold medals at the 2016 Olympic Games.

The American sports star built her fame like no other athlete. Fans and media always followed her, wanting to know more about the decorated gymnast.

Looking back at her initial years and how she handled her new-found fame, Simone Biles told Vanity Fair in a recent interview:

Simone Biles

More than Biles, it was her parents who found it difficult to handle their daughter’s fame. She revealed that they wanted to protect their daughter from fans, reporters, and photographers. However, the situation was out of their hands.

Simone Biles also said in the interview:

Amari Drayton, a freshman at LSU Gymnastics, recently stunned in her debut against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday night. Her amazing performance landed her an SEC award, and Jordan Chiles and Joscelyn Roberson were quick to congratulate the youngster.

Drayton, who hails from Texas, the hometown of Olympic and World Champion Simone Biles, was competing on the vault and the floor for the first time, donning the LSU Tigers’ purple and gold leotard.

The gymnast proved that she was a force to be reckoned with early in the meet when she landed her Yurchenko one-and-a-half on the vault. Her impeccable performance scored her a 9.925, helping her clinch silver in the event, behind teammate and senior Haleigh Bryant.

After the vault, Amari Drayton moved on to the floor, where she once again scored a 9.925, getting in on a share of the second place, and helping the Tigers to her victory.

Simone Biles

Recognizing Drayton for her performance, she was awarded the SEC’s Co-Freshman of the Week, alongside fellow gymnast Lily Smith from Georgia.

Taking to her Instagram stories to congratulate the LSU freshman, Jordan Chiles wrote,

Joscelyn Roberson also took to her Instagram to wish Drayton, writing

Apart from the three big gymnastics entities who were left wowed by Drayton, LSU Gymnastics head coach Jay Clarke was also impressed.

Drayton, who was only a last-minute replacement for an injured teammate, was “spectacular” according to Clarke.

Amari Drayton and the LSU Gymnastics team will next be in action on January 13th. The Tigers, who are currently 5th on the Road to Nationals rankings, will take on UCLA, Utah, and Oklahoma, at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad. The meet will take place at the Maverik Center in West Valley, Utah.

Simone Biles‘ sister-in-law Sammi Biles recently shared a somber update with her followers. In a heartbreaking update, Sammi Biles revealed that she suffered her third miscarriage in four years and had to bid an emotional farewell to another unborn child. This comes after Sammi revealed in June last year that she lost her second unborn baby in 2022 who suffered from several complications.

On January 9, 2024, Sammi Biles posted a reel on Instagram that began with a glimpse of an email congratulating her on being pregnant again. The caption read, What I think Heaven will sound like…” with a background track in which a child is heard saying, Mommy”. However, as the reel transitioned, a tragic update came to the fore. The video showed Sammi sobbing, and the caption read, “3 of Ronni’s siblings gone too soon,” adding three angel emojis and a broken heart emoticon.

In the post, she wrote about her ordeal while expressing her sadness and anger, “not the way anyone wants to start off their “new year”
but here we are. from the biggest Christmas surprise blessing to now being a mom of reoccurring pregnancy loss with three angel babies in Heaven. how is this my life?”

She further shared that to get pregnant again and to give Ronni’s siblings the road ahead would likely involve the arduous journey of IVF once again. The post further read, “I grieve not only them but grieving the fact that in order to try to have a sibling earthside for ronni we will have to go through IVF…again. and even that is not guaranteed. IVF is treacherous. it’s battle. it’s war. it’s expensive. it tests your marriage. it’s time consuming. it’s meticulous. it tests your sanity.”

Struggling with feelings of numbness, anger, and sadness, she found herself grappling with the harsh reality of infertility, the toll of four consecutive years of pregnancy, and her third miscarriage. Sammi Biles expressed, “my body needs a break. 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 consecutive years being pregnant and 1 earth-side baby to show for it has taken its toll. i don’t understand why something is given only to be taken away? but God does and I have to trust His plan for us and our family.”

Sammi and her husband Ron Biles Jr, Simone’s brother, have faced testing times with the couple having to go through the loss of three unborn children in the last four years. Not only that, their only child had a health scare of her own a few months away from her first birthday.

Simone Biles

Previous pregnancy losses compound this untimely demise

Back in June 2023, nearly seven months after Ronni Biles was born, Sammi Biles revealed that “Ronni would have had a little sister.” She also attached a note where she bravely opened up about the heartbreak of experiencing a second miscarriage. Prior to that loss, Ron had also recounted that Sammi’s first miscarriage occurred after more than nine weeks of pregnancy.

Though the couple have found happiness in their baby daughter Ronni Biles, they were left worried after their only child had a major health scare months before she turned one. In July last year, Sammi Biles shared a photo of a T-shirt stained with blood marks on Instagram along with a caption that read, “on today’s episode of what happened in our household: the scary af sh*t no one prepares you for as a mom your child running a low-grade fever last night and this morning then throws up blood. thank God she’s ok and we have gotten her checked out.” Little Ronni has had her struggles on her road to turning one, having to overcome COVID and Norovirus and dealing with respiratory syncytial virus RSV.

Despite the painful reality and having to go through another tragic loss, she remained grateful for the community of women who have stood by her in solidarity, as she recovers from her recent loss. We offer our condolences to Sammi Biles and her family.

Simone Biles stands as one of the most highly anticipated names for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Three years ago, Biles exited the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, stating a lack of mental readiness to compete. This was due to the “Twisties” she experienced, which can be described as a mid-air vertigo-like phenomenon while attempting a daring move on the vault.

After an impressive comeback in 2023, the excitement to witness the gymnastics queen of the sport reclaim the pinnacle stage has fans eagerly awaiting her performance. But along with the eagerness to see Simone Biles, speculation emerged months before the games that she could revive the very move that took her out of competition back in 2021.

Simone Biles

Simone Biles attempts the move that took her out of the 2021 Olympics

As reported by Gymnastics Now in December 2023, Simone Biles surprised everyone by posting eight new training videos on her Instagram stories months before the highly anticipated Paris Olympics in 2024. While the fact that she was already in training excited fans, what stood out was Biles flawlessly executing the Amanar, a move she hadn’t performed since the 2021 Olympics. In gymnastics, the Amanar on vault is when a gymnast does a backward handspring off the vaulting table, flips their body in a straight position, and twists two-and-a-half times before landing.

How did the Amanar vault challenge the gymnastics queen?

Flashback to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Simone Biles had planned to perform the Amanar vault. However, while in midair, she lost her bearings and completed only one-and-a-half twists, leading to a less-than-ideal landing. Following this, she opened up about having the “Twisties.” Biles eventually withdrew from the event, leaving the United States without their highest-scoring gymnast and creating an opportunity for the Russian team to secure the gold medal, which they ultimately did.

But now it looks like the Paris Olympics might become the stage where Biles might finally redeem herself and perform one of the most difficult moves in the sport. She already aced the Yurchenko Double Pike Vault at the 2023 World Championships, christened “Biles II” in the FIG’s Code of Points, so the question arises: will she reintroduce the Amanar, also known as the Yurchenko 2.5, in 2024? Or could we witness an entirely new move, possibly the much-anticipated “Biles III”?

This speculation also gained attention when she teased her fans by performing a Yurchenko full-twisting double back, also known as a full-in, making it clear that she’s not slowing down. Time holds the answers, but we’re curious to hear your thoughts. So, what do you think?