Simone Biles' Most Badass Moments
Happy birthday to the GOAT.
From holding over 30 World Championship medals and 11 Olympic wins to being named as TIME Magazine’s 2021 “Athlete of the Year,” gymnast Simone Biles has long been the GOAT. I mean, how many other athletes have to complete sitting out at the upcoming Olympics just to give newcomers a fair shot? Exactly. Biles’ success has not only earned her the title of the greatest of all time, but she’s the ultimate girls-girl, supporting fellow gymnasts like Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee, as they rack up their wins, too.
Throughout her career, however, the gymnast has faced criticism that most female athletes receive. From hair shaming to sexism, Biles is earning world titles while reminding haters to stay in their place. Although she shouldn’t have to, she has no problem reminding fans that her passionate spirit will garner wins both on and off of the beam.
In celebration of her birthday, these are her most memorable moments.
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Her hair? Not your problem
After sharing a photo of her on the way to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, viewers questioned the appearance of her hair. “Don’t come for me about my hair,” she wrote in the next story. “IT WAS DONE but bus has NO AC and it’s like 9,000 degrees…. Gonna hold your hand when I say this… next time you want to comment on a Black girl’s hair, JUST DON’T.”
Team “FAFO”
Biles and her 2024 Olympics teammates, Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee, hilariously try to explain their team name to reporters.
Defending her man > Your entire existence
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
At the top of 2024, Biles’ husband, Jonathan Owens, shared on a podcast that he didn’t know who she was at first. Fans lost it, called Owens insecure and begged their favorite to leave him. Her response? She ate. them. up.
She wrote on her stories: “I’m going to quickly address this, the joke was never a joke! Y’all are blatantly being disrespectful to my relationship and my husband. So I’m gonna go ahead and say this one time. Respectfully, fuck off and if you keep commenting or tweeting at me I’m just going to block you. Simple as that.
Her Reaction to Larry Nassar’s Sentence
She stood in solidarity with her teammates as she boldly spoke out against Nassar: “I would have given him 3,000 years.”
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Biles says joining the 2028 Olympics would be “greedy”
When asked if she’d enter the 2028 LA Olympics, she immediately shut it down.
“Because I’ve accomplished so much,” she began, “there’s almost nothing left to do, rather than to just be snobby and to try again and for what? I’m at a point in my career where I’m humble enough to know when to be done.” Iconic.
“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles”
Most people want to be like the greats, and then there’s our 11-time champion. Women constantly face sexism — even in the 2024 Olympics that were supposed to be the most “gender inclusive.” Who better to remind the world that women don’t need to be like men to be great — none other than the GOAT, Simone Biles.
In other news, 5 creative women share the best — and worst — career advice they’ve ever received.
