Tokyo 2020 spotlight - USA’s trailblazing gymnast Simone Biles to become an Olympic legend
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Updated 03/05/2021 at 19:05 GMT
The American already has four Olympic gold medallists, and five in total, from just one Games - and heads to Tokyo with four gymnastic disciplines already named under her in the ‘Code of Points’, with a fifth potentially on the way in Tokyo. Biles, an activist and inspiration for many women, looks destined for true greatness in Japan, with everyone else playing for second best.
Simone Biles: The queen of modern Gymnastics
Since Rio 2016, it is arguable that no athlete in the world has had the impact Simone Biles has had on shaking up sport.
The American gymnast became a global star with her four gold medals at the last Olympic Games, and five medals in total. She was already hot property for sponsors, having achieved 10 world titles before the Games - she has since gone on to win another nine.
Biles seems almost unbeatable in any discipline and has used her influence to shine a light on the darker side of sport in recent years.
She spoke out in 2018 and revealed that she had been sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. More than 250 women have since come forward to accuse him of being victims, and he was convicted to up to 300 years in jail.
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Olympic Momentum: Biles delivers in Rio
It forced Biles’ governing body to introspectively look at its safeguarding systems, and sent shockwaves through sport. A £164m settlement was awarded to people who were affected. Soon, athletes from other nations and sports felt empowered to follow in her example and spoke of their own histories, compelling organisations to review their own systems and recruitment.
Biles continues to campaign for USA Gymnastics to do more, and says her experience has driven her to keep going in the sport.
"I just feel like [with] everything that happened, I had to come back to the sport to be a voice, to have change happen," Biles recently said in an interview with American TV show Today.
"Because I feel like if there weren't a remaining survivor in the sport, they would've just brushed it to the side."
Biles has also been a prominent voice on racism, especially competing in a sport which is predominantly white. She is an inspiration to black athletes across the world, recently telling Today: “It doesn't matter what you look like. You can strive for greatness, and you can be great."
Ripping up the rulebook
But it is back on the floor and apparatus that Biles really wows. She is arguably the world’s greatest ever gymnast, and at the age of 24, already has four skills named after her in the sport’s rulebook, the Code of Points. In Tokyo, she will be aiming to make that five with the Yurchenko double pike vault - something no one has ever achieved.
Biles is ripping up the history of the sport and revolutionising it. There are few athletes who carry the same natural talent and charisma, daring to do something different to bring new audiences in.
Gymnastics needs her, and organisers around the world will be delighted that she has left the door open to compete at Paris 2024 - which could end up being her grand farewell.
Biles attracts more marketing appeal than most sports people could hope for - but it was very her to move sponsors recently for ethical reasons, leaving Nike for Gap’s Athleta brand. She has said she moved as she would be given a greater platform to use her voice to empower and inspire women.
She heads to Tokyo with pressure to succeed, as the global poster girl for this summer’s Games. A clean sweep of golds is on the cards, and if she is not already, Biles is likely to become a true Olympic great.
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