Disclaimer: This article contains a brief mention of sexual harassment. Reader discretion is advised.
Simone Biles is one of the greatest gymnasts of this generation. She has won several medals in her career and continues to give stellar performances. Netflix’s latest documentary, Simone Biles Rising, chronicles her journey as an athlete and how she became an icon. The documentary will also focus on her challenges during her career and how she overcame mental health struggles to win several medals. The documentary is available to stream on Netflix.
Born in March 1997, Simone Biles found herself attracted to gymnastics at a young age and decided to pursue it. Before making her debut as a senior competitor in 2013, Biles won several medals in national championships. According to Britannica, she made her senior international debut in 2013 and won the all-around title at her first World Gymnastics Championships. In 2014, she exceeded all expectations and won four gold medals at the World Championships. Moreover, she won multiple medals at the 2015 edition. In total, she won 14 World Championship medals, including 10 Golds, before making her Olympics debut in 2016.
After winning several medals, Simone Biles represented Team USA at the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics. The gymnast didn’t disappoint and won five medals in her first-ever Olympics. According to the official website of the Olympics, Biles won gold in team, all-around, vault, and floor events. By doing so, she became the fifth female gymnast to win four Gold medals at a single Olympics. Additionally, she won a bronze medal in the balance beam. The athlete also represented the USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and added more medals to her name. On the whole, she has seven Olympic medals to her name.
How many Olympic Medals does Simone Biles have?
After winning five medals at the 2016 Olympics, Simone Biles took a brief break from gymnastics. However, in 2018, Biles revealed that she was among the athletes who were sexually harassed by team doctor Larry Nassar. She returned to the competition in 2018 and participated in the World Championships that year. Subsequently, the athlete went on to win six medals at the event and became the first female gymnast in 25 years to win all five events at the competition. However, she didn’t stop there and did even better in the 2019 edition, becoming the first gymnast to win five gold medals at the World Championships.
According to ESPN, Simone Biles executed a difficult move during the championships during the balance beam event. She executed a “double-twisting, double backflip dismount” move at the World Championship and earned a gold medal. The move was later named the “Biles.” In 2020, several sports experts named Simone Biles as the athlete to look out for and forecasted that she would win several medals at the 2020 Olympics. Shockingly, Biles withdrew from most events due to the “twisties.” Per TODAY, twisties occur “when a gymnast is in midair and loses their sense of where they and how they will land.”
After withdrawing from most events, Simone Biles posted a training video on Instagram stories and explained why she withdrew. ABC News reported that Biles posted two videos while training and trying to complete her flipping and twisting dismount. One video explained what she was supposed to do, while the other showed what she did during the training.
The video revealed that she could not make the move and decided to take a step back. She said, “For anyone saying I quit. I didn’t quit my mind & body are simply not in sync. I don’t think you realize how dangerous this is on hard/competition surface.” Moreover, the athlete revealed that she dropped out to focus on her physical and mental health.
However, she did compete in two events and won medals in both, taking her Olympic medal tally to seven. With the 2024 Paris Olympics just around the corner, all eyes are on Simone Biles once again. The Netflix documentary captures the essence of Biles’ determination to excel in a sport she loves the most. Meanwhile, it also focuses on the athlete’s mental health struggles during her career.
The documentary Simone Biles Rising is now streaming on Netflix.
