Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast – male or female – USA Gymnastics said on Friday.

Biles won the individual all-around title for the sixth time on Friday defeating the defending champion Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, for the title at the world championships. The win brings her total to 34 medals across the world championship and Olympics, USA Gymnastics said.

On Wednesday, Biles led the U.S. women’s team to a seventh consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championship in Antwerp. Since 2011, U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship. Clinching that gold medal made Biles the most decorated female gymnast in history – topping Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union. Her win on Friday catapulted her ahead of retired gymnast Vitaly Scherbo.

She started out the competition on Sunday with a bang when she completed one of the most challenging vaults in the sport. She landed a Yurchenko double pike, which is assigned a difficulty score of 6.4, higher than any other type of vault. The vault will be renamed Biles II because it was completed in international competition, according to Team USA.

Biles returned to competition in August after taking nearly a two-year break from the sport following the Toyko Olympics. During her time away from the sport, she married Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, becoming the youngest recipient of the honor.

Video posted by Biles on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday shows tears coming to her eyes as the Star-Spangled Banner was played.

Simone Biles recently shared pictures of her and her husband Jonathan Owens’ fall photoshoot on social media. The couple, who got together in March 2020, have wowed fans ever since with regular insights into their relationship.

Whether it’s rooting for each other when they are competing, or sharing pictures of their date nights on stories, Biles and Owens have supported each other publicly over the years.

In the fall photo shoot, both Biles and Owens are dressed in shades of black in a field full of golden light and fallen leaves. Biles posted the picture to her social media, captioning the post:

Owens also shared different pictures from the same photoshoot on his Instagram, captioning the post

Earlier, the husband and wife duo celebrated Halloween together, dressed in coordinating outfits. Simone Biles sported a tight purple crop top and skirt with a cheetah print coat.

Meanwhile, Owens wore an all black outfit with a long coat that had cheetah-printed edges. Owens also accessorized with two big chains and a black cane. The couple topped the look off with matching Black and cheetah-print wide-brim hats.

Simone Biles, the prodigal gymnast, balances her family and career like no other. At the recent 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the 26-year-old walked home with her 34th medal across Olympics and Worlds. While her partner Jonathan Owens was away for his new NFL season, her parents, Nellie and Ron, graced the VIP box. However, there’s someone special for whom the Olympian’s heart yearned, especially.

Is Simone Biles already a mom? Yes. She is a pet mom of two beautiful French bulldogs, Lilo and Rambo. After concluding her anxiety-stricken gymnastic bouts, the 4X Olympic gold medalist returns to her lovelies for a detox. Likewise, her babies eagerly await their owner to come home and snuggle. In the same vein, a recent social media post boasted the pet-owner bonding.

Simone Biles’ quality time with her fur baby

Interestingly, the adorable fur babies of the gymnastic great were captivating so many hearts that their mom gifted them their own Instagram page. Named as The Biles Frenchies, the netizens often spot the bulldogs being their usual adorable selves. But this time, they decided to hijack their mother’s account to snatch her followers’ attention.

Mrs. Owens took to her Instagram to post a story of Lilo and her. Tickling her baby, while boasting her ZoFrost diamond ring, she captioned the moment as “my little baby”. In addition, she also added a teary-eyed smiley, asserting her adoration for the little cutie. While only Biles’s fingers were showing, Lilo looked at her mom with kind eyes, trying to convey her gratitude

The Owens are already taking their fans on virtual dream house tours. But the fur babies are more fortunate than their fans, for obvious reasons. They would get to stay in the new house, which their parents are building. In addition to Lilo and Rambo, the Owens have a third baby named Zeus. When the Green Bay Packers safety stepped into Biles’ life, he was accompanied by Zeus.

Now, the family of five looks as happy as ever, covered in love. While the trio are their parents’ prized possessions, they also cause trouble sometimes. In a post from a while ago, the same Lilo who looked innocent on the couch, tried to impress Mom with spoofs.

Lilo’s little notorious moves

Lilo, born on November 28, 2017, graced the Olympian’s life after 10 weeks of birth. Her then-boyfriend Stacey Erwin Jr. accompanied her to bring the adorable baby home. Right after, an individual Instagram account dedicated to her witnessed the first post by Lilo. It read, “Just a little info: I’m 10 weeks old, 6lbs. & a girly girl. Florida pup living the Texas life.” Fast forward to now, the pet grew up to be a cute trickster.

In an Instagram story from some time ago, Biles showed off Lilo’s newest tricks of hiding. Placing the curtain over his head, the little one saved herself from sunlight, while hiding from mom. It could have either been a new trick that Lilo learned, or she was just in search of a comfortable spot. Biles captioned the story as, “I couldn’t stop laughing earlier, bc Lilo stood like this for a good 3 minutes.”

While the dogs await their GOAT mom’s record-breaking performance, the 26-year-old girds up for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Even if she falls at the mouth of setbacks, her fur babies have her back.

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens have won over the internet besides winning each other’s hearts. The power couple, despite their individual career commitments, has stood up against intense trolls. As the Green Bay Packers safely embarked on the 8th NFL week, his wife turned up to support him.

At Lambeau Field, Wisconsin, the couple shared frame-worthy in-game moments. Turning the heads of the fans, the 26-year-old Olympian sported a customized t-shirt featuring Owens in action. Despite several pre-game controversies related to Taylor Swift, Biles graced the bleachers on October 29. Fighting the rough weather conditions, she fought the online trolls, too. In addition, as a new racist comment surfaced, the 7X Olympic medalist shut them up with a strong reply.

Simone Biles extends her support to her husband

In a recent Instagram post, Simone Biles shared some adorable snaps of the couple, posing on a ground full of yellow leaves. It is autumn and the beauty of it lies mostly in the essence of it being fall. Some people may consider the season as an end, but some take it as a new beginning. In the same vein, Biles captioned, “tis the season” while asserting their quality time after Owens’ match.

But trolls never cease to take jabs at the couple, be it for the Owens’ match or Biles’ position in Swift’s comparison. This time also, a fan commented, “Why do all black people have that scar on their knee” with laughing emoticons. As disrespectful as the comment sounds, for the couple of colour, it seemed like a personal attack.

However, Biles, as her partner’s pillar of strength, shut the commenter down with a sassy answer. She said, “an ACL surgery scar?” 

Simone Biles credited Aly Raisman for helping her develop confidence about her body in 2018.

The seven-time Olympic medalist always had body insecurities that made her feel demotivated. However, Raisman’s self-loving attitude inspired Biles to embrace everything about her.

Aly Raisman and Simone Biles have known each other since their early days in gymnastics. The duo was a part of USA’s ‘Final Five’ gymnastics team that competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won the gold medal. They also testified in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case in 2018.

Having gone through a whirlpool of ups and downs, Biles and Raisman definitely have maintained a strong bond. The sports world saw another instance of the duo’s strong friendship when Biles praised the retired gymnast for teaching her self-love.

During an interaction with Today.com, the gymnast said,
From the start of her career, Simone Biles faced trolling for her height, skin, and body, which naturally made her feel insecure. Aly Raisman’s beliefs helped Biles to feel great about her body, leaving behind her flaws.

Simone Biles ended the world gymnastics championships with two more gold medals on Sunday, giving her four for the meet and a record-extending 30 career world medals.

Biles won world titles on the balance beam for a record-extending fourth time and floor exercise for a record-extending sixth time.

She has twice as many world titles on each event as the next-best woman in history. But the 26-year-old is less concerned with podiums in her comeback than she was in the past.

“I had to prove to myself that I could still get out here, twist, I could prove all the haters wrong that I’m not a quitter, this, that, the other,” she said, referencing the twisties, which caused her to withdraw during the Tokyo Olympics. “As long as I’m out there twisting again, having and finding the joy for gymnastics again, who cares?”

Biles capped a successful comeback season, her first since the Tokyo Games and after just three months of full-on training before her first meet in August.

She also went undefeated in all-around competitions this summer and fall and led the U.S. to a record-breaking seventh consecutive world team title.

She said she’s proudest of her fight since ramping up to full training after her May 6 wedding.

“We’ve all been a little bit nervous going into the meets,” she said.

Biles is up to 37 career Olympic and world championships medals. She has competed in 36 career Olympic or world finals in the team, all-around, beam, floor and vault events and won a medal in all 36. Her other medal was an uneven bars silver in 2018.

She is not expected to compete again before 2024, when she can bid to become the oldest U.S. Olympic female gymnast since 1952, according to Olympedia.org. The five-woman team for Paris will be named after June’s trials in Minneapolis.

“I do feel really comfortable with where I’m at right now,” she said at worlds in Antwerp, Belgium, also the site of her first worlds in 2013. “Training, competing, I feel like every day has been a little bit less nerve-racking just going back out there.”

Also Sunday, Khoi Young added vault silver to his team bronze and pommel horse silver medals.

Young, a Stanford junior, became the second U.S. man in the last 40 years to win three medals at a single worlds after Paul Hamm in 2003.

“It was a lot of stress, but I’m absolutely happy with how I’ve done,” said Young, who withdrew during the 2022 U.S. Championships while in 10th place, then was runner-up at this past August’s nationals. “I came in with not many expectations.”

Simone Biles has undeniably secured her place as the greatest gymnast in history, not merely for her dominance but for her extraordinary abilities and fearless execution.

Her reign at the pinnacle of gymnastics for a decade stands unparalleled, and her commitment to elevating women’s artistic gymnastics to unprecedented levels of difficulty is commendable.

While the world celebrates her triumphant return at the World Championships, it’s essential to clarify some misconceptions surrounding her achievements.

Biles has not pioneered entirely original elements in artistic gymnastics, but rather, like many gymnasts before her, has borrowed elements from men’s gymnastics and pushed the boundaries in shared apparatuses like the floor, vault, and asymmetric parallel bars.

Her impact on the sport can be measured by her name’s association with five elements in the scoring code, all of which are among the most challenging for women gymnasts.

However, it’s crucial to recognize that it’s typically coaches, not gymnasts, who create and develop new elements. These coaches identify the unique qualities and abilities of their athletes and train them to master these challenging maneuvers.

Biles‘ journey began under the guidance of Aimee Boorman until 2016, and since then, the French couple Laurent Landi and Cecile Canqueteau have continued to nurture her talent.

Biles 2 in vault

One of the most talked-about elements in Biles‘ repertoire is the Yurchenko double somersault, an astonishing vault that has captivated audiences, even when performed by male gymnasts.

This jump was introduced to the world by Yang Wei, years before he became an Olympic champion in 2008. The move was originally a twist on the same jump, grouped together, and was pioneered by Ioannis Messilianidis in the late 1990s.

At that time, nobody could have anticipated that a woman would attempt this daring vault. However, Biles defied expectations when she successfully performed it for the first time at the 2021 US Classic, earning her the designation “Biles 2” in the women’s scoring code.

Biles 1 in vault

“Biles 1,” another technically intricate vault, involves a round-off, flic-flac on the springboard, a half-twist before touching the vaulting table, and a forward somersault with a double twist. This move was patented in the early 1990s by Belarusian gymnast Vitali Scherbo, who had claimed Olympic gold in Barclays.

Biles 1 on floor

The “Biles 1” on the floor is a stretched double back somersault with a half twist on the second somersault. Interestingly, this move was already part of the men’s scoring code during the 2001-2005 cycle.

It was an American gymnast, London Phillips, who performed it for the first time in 2005, albeit in a local competition.

However, it was not registered with her surname since it wasn’t executed in a FIG-governed competition like the Olympics, World Championships, or World Cup. Biles later incorporated a similar move into her repertoire, much like Fei Cheng, who performed it with an added twist and a half. In team and all-around finals, Biles opted for this move over her own.

Biles 2 on floor

The impressive “Biles 2” on floor, featuring a grouped double back somersault with three spins (pirouettes), was originally created by Ri Jong Song, a vaulting world champion renowned for his immense power.

Ri Jong Song had already been demonstrating this move at the Athens 2024 Games. Biles introduced this element at her country’s championships in 2019, and it was officially approved two months later at the World Championships. Even her teammate and Olympic floor champion, Jade Carey, performed a stretched version of this move but chose not to submit it for inclusion in the scoring code.

Biles on balance beam

Athletes take inherent risks given the competitive nature of sports. Although Simone Biles is no stranger to athletic threats, her husband plays a sport notorious for its bone-jarring collisions. Like walking a tightrope between pushing human limits and self-preservation, their lives balance on the edge. Owens’ career keeps him in Green Bay while Biles resides in Texas. Still, it’s the shared love of sports that binds their lives, even when apart.

Simone Biles supports Jonathan Owens through his painful days

Biles flew to Wisconsin in order to cheer on Owens during the exciting Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings football game. On October 29, 2023, Biles was in attendance at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The 4’8″ gymnast wore a customized jersey with her man’s face and jersey number ’34’ in addition to the Packers’ green and gold print details.

Right after the match, Jonathan shared an Instagram story showing a deep, freshly sewn scar on his left cheek. With a serious face wearing Balenciaga’s blue jumper, the picture was clicked in the medical room.

While there was no mention of the Packers’ safety stitch count, it appeared that there were approximately eight stitches. At the outset, rookie defensive lineman Karl Brooks blocked Greg Joseph’s 44-yard field goal attempt, and Owens recovered the blocked kick, advancing the ball to the Green Bay 44-yard line. This displayed strong gameplay, which could have resulted in a win for the team if there had been more consistency.

But once more, a string of mistakes proved to be the Packers’ undoing. A sack on second down left Green Bay with a daunting distance to travel, and Love’s fourth-and-16 scramble attempt was only yards shy of completion. Coach Matt LaFleur expressed his severe regret, saying, “Plain and simple, we’re not winning. We’re losing games and it’s all games that we should be winning, I think.” He further added that he was “extremely disappointed.”

Packers vs. Vikings: History and present standing

Minnesota was able to square their record at 0.500 on Sunday, claiming their third straight victory. The current Packers-Vikings showdown was the first since 2006 in which both teams attended the game with losing records. As a result of their ongoing problem with sluggish starts, the Packers (2-5) lost for the fourth week in a row.

Green Bay has not scored a touchdown in the first half of any of their previous five games, giving up 73-9 first-half points.

Minnesota led 10-3 at halftime, although their lead was primarily the result of their dominance in the first two quarters, despite the early deficit. However, early in the third quarter, the Vikings capitalized on their advantages and swiftly took command of the game.

This has now put added pressure on the Packers as they prepare to host the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday. What do you think will happen?

If someone had told me in 2020 that Simone Biles had the “twisties,” I would have assumed that she had come up with another new, previously thought impossible gymnastics skill. Or maybe the “twisties” were a bunch of Biles enthusiasts, like a Beyhive of sorts.

The world learned what the “twisties” were at the Tokyo Games in 2021 — a certain kind of mental block that a gymnast can experience as they are in the air during a twisting skill. We were used to Biles’ jaw-dropping performances in the vault, but not like this.

Her attempt and the commentators’ subsequently audible gasp are both triggering. In different ways, they are both pictures of professionals trying to contain themselves. What happens next is even more revelatory, as Biles goes to encourage her teammates, uplifting them in their expertise and ability.

It’s easy to attribute narratives to someone as brilliant as Biles. Olympic champion. American icon. Greatest of all time. They all felt deficient in that moment. Even the umbrella of “mental health” didn’t capture the fullness of her struggles.

With the ultimate respect to gymnastics, which requires intense practice and the actual skill of gods and goddesses, life itself remains the highest standard of competition for humans. The sport of gymnastics can convey one thing about life and mental health profoundly – it’s not just an individual sport, but a team sport as well.

“Lost in the air” – the uncertainty that Biles expressed because of the “twisties” – sounded like an analogy for mental health. I have no idea what it’s like to lose my sense of being in midair, but I do know what it’s like to snap out of a daydream behind the wheel of a vehicle. It’s scary and sobering.

Biles’ response, seen as radical by some, was to step away from gymnastics entirely for two years. It might not have been relatable to people who see life through the fragile repetition of paychecks, but it was no less refreshing. In a society where we often value production over humanity, saying “I don’t feel like myself today” carries a mighty weight. That stress is burdensome for a family caretaker or someone on an assembly line, let alone the greatest gymnast of all time.

Looking through the prism of mental health, Biles’ return to competition in August feels like only part of her story. But my goodness, what a chapter. She has not only asserted her dominance in the sport, but earlier this month, she became the most decorated gymnast in history, male or female.