Behind every great athlete is a resilient mind, ready to tackle both triumphs and setbacks head-on. Simone Biles is the true definition of resilience as she made a historic comeback at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships exceeding Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s achievement of 33 total medals in both the Olympics and world championships. This milestone made her the most-awarded gymnast of all time.
Biles’ performance in Belgium counts as her 27th overall medal and 21st gold medal. She currently holds 34 career medals. While competing in the world championships she made a significant impact becoming the first woman to successfully perform the “Yurchenko” double pike vault. Simone will be recognized for completing the vault as she now bears the name “Biles II” in her honor.
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During the competitions, she earned gold medals in the team event, the All Around, the balance beam, and the floor exercise. Additionally, she secured a silver medal in the vault.
The talented gymnast previously took a two-year hiatus from the sport to focus on her physical and mental wellness. Biles chose not to participate in several events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Her return to the sport gave her a chance to think about competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics in which she is considering allowing her to include another aspect to her outstanding accomplishments and elevate her legacy even further. Biles commented on The Today Show on how she feels about having this opportunity to assess.
“Right now, I would say that’s the path I would love to go so I wouldn’t mind if you put it in the ‘yay’ section,” Biles said. “This time around, it’s being intentional, going to therapy, making sure everything is aligned so that I can do the best in the gym and be a good wife, good daughter, good friend and all of the good things”.