Simone Biles: 5 things you didn't know about the US gymnastics star
One of the most decorated gymnasts of all time, Simone Biles confirmed her place at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 after registering a total of 118.098 over two days of the US Trials. This will be the second Summer Games for the 24-year-old, who has already won a combined 30 Olympics and World Championships medals so far.
READ: 5 favorites to win gymnastics gold medal at Tokyo Olympics 2020
Recently, in her first competition in 18 months. Biles attempted the Yurchenko double pike at the US Classic in May earlier this year. That’s not all, at Tokyo Olympics 2020, she will aim to become the first female gymnast in more than 50 years to win all-around gold medals at consecutive Summer Games.
On that note, here are the top five things you didn’t know about Simone Biles.
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#1 Pizza after every event
Everybody loves pizza but none more so than Simone Biles. Rather than going for a balanced protein and carb meal, Biles prefers having a pizza after each of her competitions.
Speaking to ABC News in 2016, Biles had said:
“It doesn’t even matter if I don’t win a self-gold, after every meet I have pizza.”
#2 Biles suffers from ADHD
Simone Biles was diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). This was made public before the 2016 Rio Olympics when a Russian hacker leaked her medical history.
Later on, Simone Biles tweeted about it, stating:
“Having ADHD, and taking medicine for it, is nothing to be ashamed of [and] nothing that I’m afraid to let people know.”
#3 Biles went hungry as a child before getting adopted
Simone Biles’ biological mother was suffering from alcohol and drug abuse and her father was never in the picture. She and her siblings were moved to foster care by child services. When she was six years old, Biles and her little sister, Adria, were adopted by their maternal grandparents.
Ron, an Air Force veteran, and Nellie Biles, adopted Simone and Adria in 2003 when their grandparents found out that they were in foster care. Simone Biles’ other siblings, Ashley and Tevin, were also adopted by Ron’s sister, Harriett.
In her docuseries, Simone vs Herself, she talks about her childhood:
“Growing up, me and my siblings were so focused on food because we didn’t have a lot of food… I remember there was this cat around the house and I would be so hungry. They would feed this cat and I would be like, ‘Where the heck is my food?’ And so, I think that’s [why] I don’t like cats… because this freaking street cat, she always fed it. But she never fed us.”
#4 Rio Olympics bronze medal is 'defective'
Simone Biles won the bronze medal in balance beam at Rio Olympics. In the docuseries Simone vs Herself, Biles’ mother, Nellie, states that all her gold medals are fine except the bronze. Nellie added that the medal needs to be replaced.
When Simone Biles was asked about her bronze medal, she replied:
“I had a defective performance!”
#5 Biles competed with a kidney stone
She is clearly fearless and does not know pain. Simone Biles competed in the 2018 World Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar with kidney stones.
Speaking to USA Today then, Biles said:
“I’m trying not to move every time I do something just in case [the stone] moves. Then I also hear roller coasters might help kidney stones, and I’m like my own roller coaster out there.”