"Its never been just me to achieve all of my goals" - When Simone Biles revealed her family's role in her success

Simone Biles is considered one of the greatest gymnasts in history. Biles’ seven Olympic medals make her the most decorated American gymnast of all time, on par with Sharon Miller. But has she achieved all her glory as a one-woman army? The athlete’s answer is a big no.

Biles recently revealed that her family has worked like an army for her success. The athlete, who withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics citing mental health problems, stated that her success belongs equally to her family. She also underlined that her parents, Nellie and Ronald Biles, played a major role in her life.

The 25-year-old athlete was speaking in an interview when she recalled her family’s role in her career. Crediting them for her success, Biles said that her parents have traveled to all her international competitions since her childhood. Biles also revealed that her brother used to drive her to her practice.

In an interview with Hacker Valley Studio, Simone Biles said:

"It's never been just me to achieve all of my goals and all of the dreams I had. I feel like it's been my parents, my siblings. My brothers used to work at the daycare that me and my sister used to go to. They used to drive me to and from gymnastics especially when my parents used to work all day.”

Biles revealed that she would perform better when her parents were in the audience and said:

"They would also travel overseas as well because they knew that me seeing them in the crowd would make me more comfortable and I felt like I would do better because those are my comfort people. They always travel to all my international competitions, never missed one except for the Olympics because nobody was allowed to be there.”

“I feel like it takes an army for me to be where I am. People always ask, ‘Did you do it yourself?’ and I can’t attribute all of my accolades to myself because it really was a team."

Who are Simone Biles’ parents?

Ronald Biles is Simone’s maternal grandfather. Him and his wife, Nellie adopted Simone along with her sister, Adria, when she was six. The athlete has openly spoken about her grandparents adopting her on Dancing with the Stars in 2017.

Speaking about her childhood, the gymnast said that she was 'saved' by her parents. She had said:

"Growing up, my biological mom was suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and she was in and out of jail. I never had a mom to run to. I do remember always being hungry and afraid. At three years old, I was placed in foster care."

Furthermore, Biles revealed that her grandfather eventually told her that she could call them 'mom and dad' if she wanted to. She said:

“My parents saved me. They’ve set huge examples of how to treat other people, and they’ve been there to support me since day one. There’s nothing I could say to them to thank them enough."

In her autobiography, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, a Life in Balance, Biles has also described her mother as her biggest support system since childhood.