As the 2024 Paris Olympics approach, all eyes are on Simone Biles as she looks to compete in her third consecutive Olympic Games. After withdrawing from several events at the Tokyo Olympics after experiencing the “twisties,” a term gymnasts use to describe losing their spatial awareness and orientation in mid-air, Biles is set to make the ultimate Olympic comeback this summer.
Here’s what you need to know about the gymnastics superstar ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Why is Simone Biles called the GOAT?
Biles has been dubbed “the GOAT,” which stands for the greatest of all time, because she is just that. She has consistently dominated the sport for over a decade, which would have been an unimaginable feat just a few years ago as most gymnasts reach their peak in their late teens. Her ability to win is in a class of its own. With 37 Olympic and World Championship medals — 27 of which are gold — Biles has won the most of any gymnast in history. She has also not lost an all-around competition since 2013.
Biles redefines the possibilities of her sport not just in her record-breaking number of wins and medals, but also in the unmatched difficulty of the skills she competes. Biles has no less than five skills named after her — two on the vault and floor and one on the balance beam — because she was the first, and in most cases, the only athlete to complete them in competition.
Is Simone Biles the most decorated gymnast of all time?
With a combined 37 medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships, Biles is the most decorated gymnast — male or female — of any nation in history. Biles officially earned this recognition after surpassing Vitaly Scherbo (33 World and Olympic medals) and Larisa Latynina (32 World and Olympic medals) with her performance at the 2023 World Championships.
Biles is also unquestionably the most decorated gymnast on the national level, having won an unparalleled nine U.S. all-around titles.
Biles currently ranks ninth in total Olympic medals for women’s artistic gymnastics, but she will unquestionably aim to increase this tally in Paris.
What is Simone Biles’ GOAT leotard all about?
As a clear nod to her GOAT status, Biles has twice donned a leotard adorned with a goat’s head outlined in rhinestones. Biles first showcased the design during podium training before the 2019 national championships and again at the 2021 U.S. Classic in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games.
What is Simone Biles’ schedule for the Paris Olympics?
Fans who want to see Simone Biles compete will have plenty of opportunities during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
There are six days of gymnastics competition, and Biles is likely to compete at least five of those days. If she makes the uneven bars final, then she will compete on all six days.
Biles is set to begin her competition at the Paris Olympics with the women’s qualifiers on July 28, followed by the team final on July 30 and the all-around final on Aug. 1.
Here’s the full schedule.
What records could Simone Biles break in Paris?
Biles simply making the 2024 Olympic team will match the American record for the most appearances on a U.S. gymnastics Olympic team. If Biles makes it to Paris, she will join Muriel Davis Grossfeld (1956, 1969 and 1964), Linda Metheny (1964, 1968 and 1972) and Dominique Dawes (1992, 1996 and 2000) as the only American gymnasts to represent Team USA at three different Olympic Games.
Biles will undoubtedly do more than just show up, though. She is the favorite to win at least five of the six events.
With seven Olympic medals, Biles currently shares the title of most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast with Shannon Miller. If she wins at least one of the six available artistic gymnastics medals, which she is heavily favored to do, she will become the most decorated Olympic gymnast in American history.
Biles currently sits in ninth place in the international record books for the most Olympic women’s gymnastics medals. With the opportunity to win six more medals in Paris, Biles could catapult her way to second on the all-time list. Statistically, Biles cannot catch Latynina, who won 18 Olympic medals for the Soviet Union between 1956 and 1964, unless she competes at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
In a sport where most athletes retire in their early twenties, Biles’ longevity is also record-breaking. If Biles wins just one gold medal in Paris, she will become the oldest female gymnast to do so since Latynina won gold in 1964. If Biles wins the all-around, she will be the oldest gymnast to do so since then-30-year-old Maria Gorokhovskaya in 1952.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Simone Biles is GOAT of gymnastics: A list before Paris Olympics
