Sport
Simone Biles - Artistic Gymnast
Simone Biles
Simone Arianne Biles (b. March 14, 1997) is an Olympic Gold Medallist. Born in Columbus, Ohio, the third of four siblings. Her birth mother, Shanon Biles, was unable to care for Simone or her other children โ Adria, Ashley, and Tevin. All four went in and out of foster care. ๐Simone's silver medal in the floor exercise final in Paris 2024 Olympic Games tied her as the second-most decorated female gymnast in Olympic history, a total of 11 medals.๐ She is also the youngest living person to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In 2000, Biles' maternal grandfather, Ron Biles and his second wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles, began temporarily caring for Shanon's children in the north Houston suburb of Spring, Texas, after learning that his grandchildren had been in foster care. In 2003, the couple officially adopted the two youngest, Simone and Adria. Ron's sister, Shanon's aunt Harriet, adopted the two oldest children. With a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles is the most decorated American gymnast and the world's third most decorated gymnast, behind Belarus' Vitaly Scherbo (33 medals) and Russia's Larisa Latynina (32 medals).