Five Paris Olympics storylines to know from security to Simone Biles
The Paris Olympics are fast approaching. Here’s what you need to know about the first post-pandemic Games.
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Since the age of 16, Simone Biles, now 27, has been known for her ability to win — and keep on winning.
After taking a two-year mental health break from the sport after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Biles is now back and better than ever.
From 37 World and Olympic medals to the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian honor in the U.S., Biles has won it all. Here is a look at all her wins and records thus far.
How many Olympic medals does Simone Biles have?
Biles has won seven Olympic medals, four of which are gold. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles won three individual golds in the all-around, vault and floor exercise and led Team USA’s “Final Five” to the team gold. She also added a bronze medal on the balance beam.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles added a silver medal in the team event and an additional bronze medal in the balance beam to her hardware collection. Heading into the Games, Biles was the favorite to win gold in the all-around, vault, and floor finals, but she withdrew from competition after suffering from a case of the “twisties,” a term used by gymnasts to describe losing their sense of space and direction in the air.
Biles currently has the ninth most Olympic medals in women’s artistic gymnastics, but she will undoubtedly look to add to this figure in Paris.
How many World Championship medals does Simone Biles have?
Biles has earned a record-breaking 30 World Championship medals – 23 gold, four silver, and three bronze — making her the most decorated gymnast in World Championships history by both a total medal and gold medal count. At the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, a then-16-year-old Biles won her first four World Championships medals, including gold in the all-around and floor competitions. A decade of dominating, gravity-defying performances later, Biles returned to the 2023 World Championships, also in Antwerp, where she won her five most recent World Championship medals: four gold medals in the team, all-around, beam, and floor finals and one silver medal in vault.
Biles’ World Championship accolades include six all-around gold medals — the most of any woman in gymnastics history. She is also the only American gymnast to win a World Championship medal in each of the six events: the all-around, team, balance beam, uneven bars, vault, and floor exercise competitions.
When was the last time Simone Biles lost an all-around competition?
Biles has not lost an all-around competition in over 11 years. Her last defeat came at the hands of American teammate and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Kyla Ross at the 2013 Chemnitz Friendly in Germany.