"Everything I do, Simone Biles does one extra flip" - When Nadia Comaneci lauded the American's brilliance
Gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci was all praise for Simone Biles when the two met at the Laureus Sports Awards in Monaco.
Comaneci is one of the finest athletes the sport has seen to date, with nine Olympic medals to her name — five gold, three silver, and one bronze. She has also won four medals (two gold and two silver) at the World Championships along with a whopping 12 medals (nine gold, two silver, and one bronze) at the European Championships.
Biles is one of the modern gymnastics greats and is the most decorated American gymnast in history. She has won seven Olympic medals so far, putting her in the ninth spot on the all-time list.
When the two gymnasts of different generations crossed paths at the Laureus Sports Awards in Monaco, Comaneci spoke highly of Biles, stating that she enjoys watching the Ohio-born athlete compete.
"We watched that a couple of times. Actually, I did. Everything I do, Simone does one extra flip. But it's fun to watch ebecause it's a little bit different. The vault is not the same," she said in 2018 [via olympics.com].
Later, Comaneci looked back at her own performance at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, where she became the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score (10.0) at the quadrennial event. She later received the perfect score six more times in the Canadian city, which saw her clinch a total of five medals at the event — three gold, one silver, and one bronze.
The Romania-born Oklahoma resident joked about how the digital display in Montreal wasn't programmed to show a 10.0 score.
"Even the computer was not ready to show the 10 as it appeared as 1.00, which is not a very good score in gymnastics," she said with a laugh.
International Sports Press Association names Simone Biles the Female Athlete of the Year for 2023
The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) has named Simone Biles as the Female Athlete of the Year for 2023.
A total of 405 sports journalists from 107 AIPS member nations picked Biles as the winner through a voting process. The American came in first place with 353 votes, with Kenyan middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon (329 votes) finishing second and Spanish soccer player Aitana Bonmati (297 votes) coming third.
Biles has had a strong season, one which saw her return to action since taking a sabbatical after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On her comeback at the US Classic gymnastics event in June, she clinched three gold medals in the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise events.
The 26-year-old then won her sixth all-around title at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Belgium. Additionally, she also won gold medals in floor exercise, balance beam, and team events.