When Simone Biles learned last year that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were canceled, she admitted to Today that she wept.
“I was actually in the gym training at the time because we are allowed under 10 people so our elites were training. And I went to the locker in between rotations and I got a text and I didn’t really know what to feel. I just kind of sat there and I cried. But ultimately it was the right decision.”
And while the decision was a tough pill to swallow, Biles never missed a step.
RELATED: Simone Biles Will Forever Be a Part of History, Winning Another US Gymnastics Championship
Now, Simone Biles is gearing up to compete in Tokyo in 2021. And if her past competitions are any indication, Biles is going to be very fun to watch as she competes for even more Olympic gold.
Since coming onto the scene, Biles has time and time again solidified her spots in the history books.
From winning seven U.S. championships to throwing stunts no other gymnast has done before.
Heck, Simone Biles was the first female gymnast to throw and land the Yurchenko double pike, a vault stunt only ever seen done by a male gymnast.
Following the competition, Biles talked about what was going through her head before she threw the new stunt.
“I was just thinking, ‘Do it like training, don’t try to overdo anything,’ because I have a tendency as soon as I raise my hand to overpower things, which I did a little bit, but at least I was still on my feet.”
“It’s a new vault. I’m proud of how today went, even though it was a little bit rough and uncharacteristic. But it was OK.”
While competing at her first U.S. Classic in two years, Simone Biles wanted those watching her to know she didn’t go anywhere.
She’s still the G.O.A.T and she’s not afraid to own that or prove it time and time again.
Currently, Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in America, has won the most world championships medals than any other gymnast, and she has four moves already named after her.
One is on floor, one is on the beam, one is on vault, and the Biles II.
And while competing in the 2021 Classic, she wore a leotard with the rhinestone outline of a goat on it, solidifying Simone Biles’ place as the Greatest Of All Time when it comes to gymnastics.
She also revealed that the goat now has a name, Goldie… get it?
It is likely that she will become the most decorated gymnast in the world after competing in Tokyo 2021.
Currently, Belarus’ Vitaly Scherbo has 33 Olympic and World Championship medals, Russia’s Larisa Latynina has 32, and Simone Biles currently has 30.
Of those 30, 5 are Olympic medals, and 25 are World medals.
Prior to her incredible Olympic run in 2016, where she won four gold medals and a bronze, Biles verbally committed to UCLA in 2014. She later deferred to compete in the Games.
At the age of six, after being adopted by her maternal grandfather and his wife, Simone Biles first tried gymnastic.
In a story that she owns proudly, Biles and her sister were adopted out of foster care by their biological mother’s father. She has 4 siblings and was born in Ohio before moving to Texas.
While talking with Today’s Hoda Kotb, Biles revealed that this year’s Olympics are about so much more than even more medals.
It’s about change, Simone Biles says.
As At the Buzzer previously reported, Biles came out as one of the hundreds of athletes abused by former Team USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar before he was convicted of his crimes.
And now she plans on making her run at the Tokyo Olympics, more than just about the medals she’s predicted to win.
“I just feel like [with] everything that happened, I had to come back to the sport to be a voice, to have change happen,” the 24-year-old explained. “Because I feel like if there weren’t a remaining survivor in the sport, they would’ve just brushed it to the side.”
Ever since coming forward, Biles has been a voice for change and has used her platform to make sure that change happens.
She also slammed USAG for knowingly concealing Nassar’s actions. “Since I’m still here and I have quite a social media presence and platform, they have to do something,” Biles explained adding that the reason she came back was so much more than just her love of gymnastics.
“So I feel like, coming back, gymnastics just wasn’t the only purpose I was supposed to do,” she told Kotb. “I don’t think I knew [that was part of my reason], either, but I feel like gymnastics wasn’t the only thing I was supposed to come back for.”
It’s so easy to root for Biles and we can’t wait to see her soar as the Olympics quickly approach!
Sara Vallone has been a writer and editor for the last four and a half years. A graduate of Ohio University, she enjoys celebrity news, sports, and articles that enhance people's lives.
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