Simone Biles is probably the most well known gymnast in the world and her fame just keeps growing. Biles recently broke the record for most world medals won by any gymnast, which is a massive accomplishment for a female gymnast.
For anyone who doesn’t know the workings of men’s world champion gymnastics, it consists of six individual event finals, an all-around final and a team final. This gives individuals the ability to win up to eight medals. However, for women, there are only four individual event finals, including an all-around final and a team final; meaning the highest amount of medals that can be won at a world championship is only six, two less than the men.
Biles now holds 25 world championship medals, the most among both men and women gymnasts. I am simply in awe of Biles and her amazing accomplishments for both gymnastics and for females.
The fact that Biles was able to clench more medals than the previous record holder, Belarusian men’s gymnast Vitaly Scherbo, is wildly impressive. Biles is truly now the most decorated world champion gymnast and best gymnast (both male or female) that has ever lived.
Biles also gained two more skills that bear her name. I honestly don’t even know how to react to the fact that she now has four skills named after her — two on the floor (the Biles and the Biles II), one on the vault (the Biles) and one on beam (the Biles). Most gymnasts will never even have a single skill named after them, and now Biles has four.
As a retired gymnast, I can attest to how difficult the sport is, but it comes natural to Biles. She works hard of course, but her amazing accomplishments are due to a combination of her hard work and natural talent.
Biles’ resume just continues to grow and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. She has the potential to win five gold medals at the Olympics and six medals over-all, which would mean a medal on every event.
By becoming the most decorated world champion gymnast and breaking records, Biles shows women and girls that there is no limit to their potential. Biles beat Scherbo’s record for world championship medals, a task that, for a while, seemed near impossible for a female gymnast because of the medal potential difference.
It’s important for women, especially young girls, to see this occurring and to know that while odds are sometimes stacked in men’s favor, times are changing and they can be just as good or even better than their male counterparts.
