Simone Biles: Most successful gymnast of all time

Simone Biles won all five gold medals on offer at Rio, tying an American record for most golds in women's gymnastics at a single Olympics. The Rio Olympics, more importantly, was a springboard for her quest towards Olympic history.

After astonishing judges with her gravity-defying skills on the asymmetric bars in individual all-around event, she performed three more perfect routines before the Olympics got over. As the American teenager stepped up to the floor, the Brazilian crowd was hushed to complete silence as they witnessed history.

But astonishingly, the youngster didn't feel any pressure at all.

“It’s (pressure) pretty easy. Because for you guys watching it’s different than me doing the gymnastics. When I’m out there I’m not thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I have so much pressure,’ because I’m the one doing it. It’s easier doing it than watching it," Simone Biles told The Guardian.

Simone Biles: More than just a gymnast

Biles' capacity for delivering without the tiniest fault is one she ascribes not just to the fearlessness of youth but to her immersion in her craft. It is this attitude that should stand the 24-year-old in good stead at the Tokyo Olympics.

There is a chance that she will make even more history in Tokyo, when she becomes the oldest woman to clinch the Olympic all-around title.

American Simone Biles' record fifth all-around title at the gymnastics world championships makes her a clear favorite for gold at the Tokyo 2020 games https://t.co/swZbKUxxXJ pic.twitter.com/mBFonArOmG

— Reuters (@Reuters) October 11, 2019

Her dedication to gymnastics is extreme, and her desire to win is palpable.

“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps,” Biles told reporters at Rio. “I’m the first Simone Biles," she added.

What is appealing about Biles is that she grasps the magnitude of every moment, never letting anything deter her.

Nearly contradicting the laws of physics, Simone Biles has won about every major medal.

At just 24 years of age, she is the most decorated American gymnast ever and has more World Championship titles to her name than any other gymnast.

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When you are Simone Biles, the laws of gravity do not apply.@Simone_Biles // #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/IUVELSdWwE

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) May 1, 2021

Apart from winning five golds at a single Olympic edition, Biles has won about every other major medal, often by wide margins. In a career spanning more than seven years at the professional level, Biles has amassed 19 World Championships titles, ten more than Russia’s second-placed Svetlana Khorkina.

"I feel like it just comes from the desire to want to do gymnastics and the love that I still have for the sport," she told Olympics.com.

As she flies high into the sky in Tokyo, Biles will compete only against herself in a league of her own. And she would, once again, marvel at her own greatness.

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