Simone Biles reveals hilarious reason she chose elite gymnastics over college scholarship

11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles recently revealed a humorous reason for choosing elite gymnastics over a college scholarship early in her career. Biles decided to forego college and turn professional at the age of 18.

Biles became the most decorated American Olympic gymnast in history after winning three gold and one silver medal at the Paris Olympics, bringing her total medal count to 11. With this milestone, the 27-year-old went past her compatriot Shannon Miller in terms of most Olympic medals. During the quadrennial event in Paris, Biles not only won two individual golds and a silver but also played a pivotal role in helping her team reclaim the team all-around title for the first time since the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Ohio native appeared on Not Just Football with Cam Heyward with hosts Cam Heyward and Hayden Walsh this Thursday on YouTube.

In the episode, the 27-year-old discussed how she got into elite gymnastics, revealing that her training partners were competing internationally. Seeing her peers featured in a magazine after a trip to Italy inspired her desire to follow in their footsteps. It was then that her coach suggested she pursue elite gymnastics.

"It was because of the girls I was going to camp with had been going to international assignments. I got a college scholarship, and I was like, the girls, I got this magazine one time, and they were in Italy, and I was like, I want to go to Italy, and my coach was like, Well, then you have to do elite gymnastics, and I was like, What's that? She was like, It's the next level, so I was like, Let's do that," she said. [51:00 onwards]

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When Simone Biles recalled why she gave up her collegiate career to turn professional

Simone Biles at the Artistic Gymnastics - Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Image via Getty)

Simone Biles once revealed during an interview with Texas Monthly in 2016 that her father encouraged her to turn pro while she could. He explained that she could always attend college later while pursuing gymnastics at the highest level.

"It was a very long and hard decision," she said. "My dad kept telling me, ‘You can always go to college, but you can’t always go pro.’ That made sense to me. And also, if you have an opportunity to set yourself up [financially] in life, why not take it? So I was like, ‘Let’s get this going."

Biles is currently on the Gold Over America Tour, featuring elite gymnasts performing for fans.