Simone Biles, the New Star of Gymnastics

Simone Biles, the New Star of Gymnastics

     At a height of 4’8” and weight of 104 lbs, she is a giant amongst the greatest stars of gymnastics today. Simone Biles is still today, the best exponent of this sport before and after her presentation in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Especially in her return to Boston this year, Biles demonstrated what she was made of. Simone is a girl who describes herself as “happy, humorous and energetic.” We have all been exhilarated with her energy, smile, incredible hurdles and passion in which she presents herself with each day.

     Bikes was born on March 14, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. By simply seeing her brilliant attitude, and her impeccable performances no one would imagine the obstacles that this extraordinary young woman had to face in order to reach the top. Her childhood was difficult: she never knew her father, her mother suffered various addictions and for this reason she was taken to an orphanage until she was 3 years of age, when her maternal grandparents took her under their wings.

     Although her biological parents were not present, luck smiled upon her with the love and dedication that her family and those coincidences that can define our lives without us noticing. At the young age of 6, her parents sent her on a field trip to Bannon’s Gymnastix gym. As she watched the gymnasts train, the 6 years old Biles felt love strike her; her love for gymnastics. Little Simone began to imitate the exercises with ease and grace that immediately caught the attention of one of the coaches who suggested her parents to enroll her in a school.
With only 8 years of age, she would discovered Aimee Boorman, her coach until this year and who told the British magazine Time that "One day (Simone) decided that she would be a great gymnast and since then she has done everything to achieve it. ”And we have all seen how she has achieved it:

•      Five times national champion in the individual general competition (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018).

•      Olympic champion of Rio 2016 in individual general competition

•      Three times world champion in soil (2013, 2014 and 2015)

•      The only gymnast to be the individual general world champion three times consecutively (2013, 2014 and 2015).

•      Two times world champion in balance beam (2014 and 2015).

     At 21 years old, after two years of voluntary retirement, at the Boston Garden she won the five gold medals, the individual general and the four devices.

Her epic return to competition marked a new precedent in gymnastics: the last time an American gymnast had won the five golds in the national championship went back to Dominque Dawes, another American myth, in 1994.
 
 Her presentation amazed the whole world because it was rumored that she would retire forever from gymnastics after the two years of absence; no one expected to see her at her best.
 
In the hands of Laurent Landi Simone, she showed that the six-month training was more than effective because even Biles showed off on the asymmetric bars, the device that gives her the most difficulty.
With a bright future that sponsors many more titles and medals in the future, we are inspired and grateful to live in an era where this sport is reborn with strength and with brave, empowered and talented girls like Simone Biles.
 
Sources:

•      Wikipedia: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Biles

•      As.com: https://as.com/masdeporte/2018/08/20/polideportivo/1534777208_727036.html

•      The World: http://www.elmundo.es/deportes/mas-deporte/2018/07/29/5b5b986dca47417e278b4586.html

•      Beliefnet: http://www.beliefnet.com/espanol/simone-biles-biografia.aspx

•      Hola.com: https://www.hola.com/actualidad/2016081887836/simone-biles-novio-rio-juegos-olimpicos/