Simone Biles is a 27-year-old artistic gymnast born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio. Her name has entered sports history as the most decorated gymnast of all time—across both women’s and men’s categories. Biles became a central figure in 2021 during the Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to the pandemic), when she announced her withdrawal from events due to mental health concerns. This decision had a powerful impact and sparked global reflection within and beyond the athletic community.
The early career of Simone Biles
Between World Championships and Olympic Games, Simone Biles has won 37 medals—more accolades than her age. This achievement is even more striking considering her age of 27.
She began training at age eight and was already competing professionally at 14. In artistic gymnastics, careers start and peak early; athletes often begin very young and are considered veterans by their early twenties.
Vault has always been Biles’s strongest event. Her leap to the elite level came at age 16, when she began appearing in National and World Championships. That same year, she qualified for her first Olympic Games as the top-ranked gymnast in her country.
In that Olympic competition, she won five medals—four gold and one bronze—becoming the first gymnast in history to achieve such a feat in a single Olympics.
Life-changing events
Outside the sport, Biles came forward six years ago to publicly disclose that she had been sexually abused by the former doctor of the U.S. gymnastics federation. Her brave testimony encouraged other athletes to share their own experiences.
That act of courage was not the first, nor the last, time Biles revealed deeply personal matters on a public stage.
Why Simone Biles changed the course of sports
Beyond her athletic achievements, Biles made history by prioritizing her mental health over competition. Withdrawing from the Olympic Games sent a strong message: health is not limited to physical wellness—the mind matters too.
While she wasn’t the first athlete to speak openly about mental health, her timing and prominence made the impact historic. What followed cemented her as a symbol of emotional honesty and athlete empowerment.
Biles explained that she was not in the right mental state to compete and lacked the confidence she once had. With this in mind, she stepped away from the games and returned home from Tokyo to focus on her well-being and spend time with her family.
This decision—simple in appearance—was revolutionary. For one of the greatest gymnasts of all time to openly step back for mental health reasons created a shift in global sports culture, prompting many others to do the same.
Biles also spoke about the intense pressure she felt. Despite years of winning titles and competing at the highest level, she had been placed on a pedestal where the expectations exceeded her human capacity.
Her professional leap beyond the sport
Unlike many other globally popular sports, gymnastics does not guarantee major financial rewards. Although Biles earned some income through her medals, her true financial gains came from sponsorships and brand partnerships.
She has ranked among the highest-paid female athletes, with earnings comparable to elite tennis players. Facebook, Visa, and Uber were among the companies that partnered with her.
These contracts helped solidify her as not just a sports icon, but a powerful figure in global culture. After her break in 2021, Biles returned to competition months ago, visibly recovered and enjoying her sport once more.
Still, what will endure in collective memory is her voice—the moment in Asia when she told the world she was under pressure and struggling mentally. That declaration inspired countless athletes to express their own mental health journeys.
Simone Biles is a rare example of a champion who redefined victory. Her story shows that beyond medals, records, and trophies, true greatness lies in acknowledging the importance of mental well-being—and choosing to protect it.