Simon Bikes, the Texas-based Olympian, has provided some great quotes and powerful words over the years, describing her rise and effort to succeed.
After winning gold in the individual all-around at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she gave a powerful statement that shows she doesn’t want to be remembered or named after someone else, but instead wants her unique identity for everything she did for the country.
Simon Had A Point, And She Eventually Proved
“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles,” the Gold Medalist said after the reporters and commentators kept comparing her to legendary Male Athletes, Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, who have over 30 Gold Medals combined in the Olympics.
She also added, “To me, I’m just the same Simone. I just have two Olympic Gold medals now. I feel like I did my job tonight.”
The quote was also a challenge to the media’s habit of comparing female athletes to their male counterparts, who are trying to carve out their own history.
Before she got her hands on the Olympic medal, the gymnast already had 10 Gold Medals from World Championships in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and it was just the start of her legendary career.
Coming to 2025, she is the most decorated Gymnast in history and widely regarded as the greatest gymnast ever in the U.S.
She has seven gold medals, two silver medals, and seven gold Medals in the Olympics alone, which could have been much more if she hadn’t experienced twisties. However, she returned for the balance eam final on August 3, 2021.
“I want to be remembered as the athlete who never gave up,” she said during the 2021 Olympics.
Indeed, her hard work and dedication over the years have made her one of the best and have brought her this far.
Besides Olympic Medals, she also has 23 Gold Medals in World Championships and a couple in 2016’s Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championship.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Simon Biles has 45 Medals (including Pacific Rim), only second to the former Soviet Union’s Larisa Latynina, with 32 (18 Golds).
- Biles is tied with Allyson Felix (a track runner) for the most Olympic medals won by an American woman 11 each), who is not a swimmer.
- The 4’8″ Gymnast is married to NFL Safety, Jonathan Owens, who plays for the Chicago Bears in the NFL. They tied the knot in April 2023.
