Simone Biles Academy of Achievement

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The gravity-defying performances of gymnast Simone Biles have placed her in a class by herself, demolishing previous standards of difficulty and inspiring the awe of coaches, competitors and former champions. Her life might have turned out very differently. At the age of two, she and her siblings were taken from their drug-addicted mother and placed in foster care. Adopted by her grandfather and his wife, she was introduced to gymnastics during a day-care field trip at age six. Her talent was evident from the beginning, but in her first adult competitions, she suffered her share of mishaps. Only three weeks after a particularly disastrous showing, she won her first U.S. Championship, and two months later, a world title. Since then, she has not lost a meet, winning four national and three world championships. At the 2016 Olympics, she won four gold medals, one as a member of the women’s championship team, and three more in the all-around, vault and floor exercise categories. At the 2019 World Championship she won five more gold medals — placing first in balance beam, vault, floor exercise, all-around, and as a member of the wining team. These victories boosted her total number of medals in World Championship competition to a record-breaking 25, in addition to her Olympic gold. She is now the most decorated competitive gymnast in history.