Simone Biles' talent shows talent makes star quality

Simone Biles first began showing promise as a gymnast when she was 6 years old^[1]; she quickly rose up the ranks and competed in the U.S. Classic in 2011 and 2012^[2][3], as well as the USA Gymnastics National Championships in 2012^[4]. Her international debut occurred only a year later at the 2013 American Cup, in which she came in second place^[5]. That same year, she became the seventh woman and the first African American to win the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, even landing ahead of 2010’s world champion Aliya Mustafina^[6]. By 2015, she had scored her third all-around national title, becoming the second woman ever to do so^[7]. Biles continued to compete in and win titles at various competitions until she was officially named as part of the team for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Her many impressive (and seemingly inhuman) achievements during the Olympics catapulted her to international fame; she became the first quadruple gold medalist in women’s gymnastics since 1984^[8] and set a U.S. record for most gold medals won in women’s gymnastics in one Olympic Games^[9]. Her talent led to her being selected by Team USA to be the flag bearer in the closing ceremony - she is the first American female gymnast to have been chosen for this honor^[10]. Since the Olympics, Biles has continued to set precedents in the gymnastics world. Her 2018 on-vault routine, as well as her 2019 on-floor, are considered next-to-impossible and the most difficult women’s artistic gymnastics routines in history^[11]. She has had several elements named after her - one on the vault, one on the balance beam, and two floor exercises. Her floor exercise “Biles II” was rated at the highest difficulty level in all of gymnastics; no other gymnast has been able to successfully complete it^[12]. Currently, Biles owns the most world medals in United States history, and has the most gold medals from world championships of any female gymnast^[13]. Biles's seemingly super-human skills in gymnastics have led to historic victories and fame for herself and the United States Olympic team.