With 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals to her name, Team USA’s Simone Biles is comfortably the most decorated gymnast in history.
Adding to her medal haul at the Paris Olympics 2024 this summer, the 27-year-old won three golds medals and one silver in the French capital, grabbing the top awards in Vault, Team and Individual all-around during the Olympic Games. She is one of the richest athletes on the planet too, with a reported net worth of $25million.
While Biles is be a world class talent in her field, she has also proven to be a real advocate for mental health after removing herself from the last Olympics in Tokyo when she is said to have suffered from ‘the twisties’, an issue that is most commonly triggered by stress and/or anxiety and can make an athlete feel lost in the air. An icon both in - and out - of the arena.
Want to know why so she is so iconic? Here are 20 of Simone Biles best quotes that prove exactly why so many see her as the greatest of all time.
9. On her parents...
"My parents make sure we have everything we need so that we compete to the best of our abilities." | AFP via Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
10. On being born to do gymnastics...
"I was built this way for a reason, so I'm going to use it." | AFP via Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
11. On being adopted...
"When I was younger, I thought every kid was adopted because that's all I've known. I have everything I need, so I never felt the need to have answers for what happened." | Getty Images
12. On being herself...
“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps… I’m the first Simone Biles.” | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images