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Simone Biles’ parents Nellie and Ronald Biles proudly cheered from the stands as Simone and the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team delivered a stunning performance at the Paris Olympics qualifying events on July 28.
With remarkable determination and resilience, Biles and her teammates — Jade Carey , Jordan Chiles , Suni Lee , and Hezly Rivera —secured their spot in the final competition on July 30 by posting the highest score in their subdivision with 172.296. Italy followed in second place with a score of 166.861, and China in third with 166.628.
Simone Biles currently holds the top all-around score with 59.566 and leads in vault with scores of 15.300, 15.800, and 14.800, as well as in floor exercise with a score of 14.600. With unwavering love and support from her family, it’s no surprise that the Olympic champion consistently excels on the world’s biggest stage. Ronald and Nellie Biles, who she considers her parents, have been present at nearly all of her gymnastics competitions throughout her career, except for the Tokyo Olympics, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Who Are Simone Biles Parents?
The presence of her family in the crowd provides her with a profound sense of confidence. In an interview with Brené Brown , the 4-foot-8 gymnast admitted that the absence of her parents at the Tokyo Games was particularly challenging, as it compounded her struggles with maintaining mental health during the competition.
“We go over to Tokyo and no audience is allowed, we’re quarantined in our rooms, and can only come out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Everyone expected us to perform in a certain manner. There was no camaraderie, and my parents weren’t able to go there,” Biles said, according to People . “My parents haven’t missed a competition in my life.”
Before the Tokyo Games, Nellie told the outlet that locating her parents in the crowd is an essential part of the gold medalist’s pre-performance routine.
“She always knows where we are sitting, it doesn’t matter the arena. She’ll look and I’ll wave and we make a connection,” she shared.
Simone Biles Is Adopted
According to People , Biles’s inseparable bond with Nellie and Ronald started at the age of six. Born in Columbus, Ohio, the superstar gymnast and her siblings were removed from their biological mother Shannon’s care due to her struggles with addiction and her inability to care for the children. After a turbulent period in the foster care system, Biles and her younger sister Adria were adopted by Ronald and Nellie, who became their loving parents.
Ronald, a former Air Force veteran, and Nellie, a nurse and business owner, relocated their family to Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, where they provided a modest but nurturing environment for their children, The Academy of Achievement notes. In honor of National Adoption Month in 2017, Biles thanked her parents for giving her and her siblings “a loving family.”
Simone Biles’ Parents Helped Foster Her Skills
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During a field trip at six years old, she was taken to a gymnastics facility where she watched athletes practice and impressed coaches by mimicking their moves with remarkable skill. One coach even suggested to her family that she pursue gymnastics further, marking the beginning of her extraordinary journey.
Under the guidance of Ron and Nellie, Simone joined a training program at Bannon’s Gymnastix in Houston , where she trained with Coach Aimee Boorman . Biles quickly excelled, making her competitive debut in 2011. At the American Classic, she earned third place in the all-around competition and first place in the vault.
Nellie told People in 2016, that Biles became so obsessed with gymnastics that she “never missed a practice.”
She added, “Even if she was sick, I would tell her she should stay home, and she would say ‘No, I have to go to practice!'”
At just 14, Biles made the pivotal decision to switch to homeschooling to dedicate herself fully to gymnastics, propelling her career to new heights. In 2013,16-year-old Biles exploded on the athletic scene when she made her debut at the Antwerp World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. After completing a stellar all-around routine and an awe-inspiring floor exercise, Biles scored a silver in the vault and a bronze in the balance beam.
Her crowning moment came during the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she secured four gold medals and one bronze medal, the highest number of Olympic gold medals in a single game for a U.S. gymnast. She’s also the first woman to win five all-around World Championship titles. Three were earned during her incredible gymnastic run between 2013 and 2015. She was blessed with two more awards in 2018 and 2019, bringing her overall total to 25 medals.
Biles thanked her parents for changing her life in her 2021 Facebook Watch Series Simone Vs. Herself.
“Being separated from my biological mom, being placed in foster care before I officially got adopted by my grandparents, it just set me up for a better route at life,” she told fans on an episode of the seven-part series. “I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am unless that turning point happened. I would still be Simone Biles, probably not Simone Biles that everybody else knows, the world knows. But I also believe everything happens for a reason and I’m forever grateful for that because I definitely got a second shot at life,” the star added.
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