Simone Biles will lead the US squad in the women’s gymnastics team final later today, Tuesday July 27.
Biles is the most decorated American gymnast and is considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time.
The US women’s team is a dominant force at every Summer Olympics and Tokyo 2020 is the first time in a while that they have been challenged.
It’s the closest it’s ever been and now a two-horse race between them and the Russian Olympic Committee.
Last weekend, the USA qualified second for the major team final – the first time they have been beaten to the top spot in 11 years.
But they are still pegged to win, being led by Simone Biles.
How many Olympic medals does Simone Biles have?
Simone Biles’ first Summer Olympics was the 2016 games in Rio, making Tokyo 2020 only her second Olympic tournament.
She currently has five Olympic medals from Rio: four gold and one bronze.
Biles has three individual gold medals for floor exercise, vault, and the all-around competition; one gold medal in the team event; and one individual bronze medal for balance beam.
Biles and her teammate Gabby Douglas are the only American female gymnasts to win both the individual all-around gold and team gold at the same tournament.
Douglas won both in the 2012 London games.
Which gymnastics moves are named after Biles?
Simone Biles is so dominant in the Gymnastics world that she even has specific moves that have been dedicated in her honour.
There are four elements in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points named after her: one on vault, one on balance beam, and two on floor.
Biles debuted her vault – a roundoff, back handspring with half turn entry; front stretched somersault with 2 twists – in 2018.
She is the only woman to have ever performed this vault so far.
Biles’ signature balance beam move is a double-twisting double-tucked salto backwards dismount off the end of the beam.
This is the highest-valued skill in the Code of Points and was performed successfully by Biles in 2019.
Also named the ‘Biles’, a double layout with a half twist on the floor, has been successfully done by four women including Biles herself.
Dubbed the ‘Biles II’, a triple-twisting double-tucked salto backwards on the floor is another exclusive skill from Simone.
She debuted the move in 2019 and so far nobody else has managed to attempt it in competition.
