Simone Biles to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles is among 17 civilians who will be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced Friday.

At the age of 25, Biles will become the youngest athlete ever to receive the honor.

Recognized as the nation’s highest civilian honor, the award is presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.

Biles, the most decorated American gymnast in history, has won a combined 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. In recent years, she’s become a prominent advocate for athletes’ mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault.

The awards will be presented at the White House on July 7.

Complete list of recipients:

Simone Biles

Sister Simone Campbell

Dr. Julieta García

Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords

Fred Gray

Steve Jobs

Father Alexander Karloutsos

Khizr Khanis

Sandra Lindsayis

John McCain

Diane Nash

Megan Rapinoe

Alan Simpson

Richard Trumka

Wilma Vaught

Denzel Washington

Raúl Yzaguirre

Dominique Dawes: First African American Olympic gymnastics medalist

Before Simone Biles and Gabby Douglass there was Dominique Dawes.

Born on November 20, 1976, in Silver Spring, Maryland, Dominique Dawes began taking gymnastics lessons at age 6. She participated in the Olympic Games as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team in 1992, 1996 and 2000, winning a team medal each time. In 1996, Dawes's team won Olympic gold and Dawes won an individual bronze medal—becoming the first African American to win an individual Olympic medal in women's gymnastics. She retired from gymnastics after the 2000 Games.

Simone Biles Wins Fifth All-Around World Championship Medal

Simone Biles is a step closer to being the greatest gymnast ever to have competed in the World Gymnastics Championships.

Biles won her fifth world all-around title by dominating the field at the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. With the win, she now holds 22 world medals.

Biles, 22, scored 58.999 points, ESPN reported, putting her 2.1 points ahead of the second place finisher, China’s Tang Xijing — and marking the biggest margin of victory of her career.

“I don’t know; I feel like it’s not me,” Biles said after her win, per the Times. “Sometimes I wonder how I do it. I feel like it’s just, like, not me. I wish I could have like an out-of-body experience to witness it, because sometimes I think I’m going crazy.”

“I really don’t know how I do it sometimes,” she added.

Simone Biles just became the first gymnast to land a double-double dismount

22-year-old, Simone Biles became the first gymnast to ever attempt and land a double-twisting, double somersault dismount off the balance beam, according to Team USA.

The five-time Olympic medalist and 14-time world champion completed the move on Friday at the 2019 US Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Missouri. Watch her spectacular moment below.

Simone Biles wins every gold medal at U.S. Championships

Simone Biles, in the second meet of her comeback, won her record fifth U.S. all-around title and swept the four apparatus titles, combining scores from Friday and Sunday at TD Garden.

She never thought it would be possible, but she also wants to work on pre-meet nerves, consistency and confidence.

“I’d give it a B-plus,” Biles told Andrea Joyce on NBC.

The four-time Rio Olympic gold medalist became the first woman to win all five golds at the national gymnastics championships since Dominique Dawes in 1994.

She won the all-around by 6.55 points over 2017 World all-around champion Morgan Hurd, the largest margin since the perfect-10 system was thrown out in 2006. That gap is larger than that separating Hurd from the 11th-place gymnast.

“I knew I was capable of [scoring this well], but I kind of thought I was going to be a nervous wreck and maybe fall apart,” said Biles, who wore a teal mint leotard in part to stand with fellow Larry Nassar sexual-abuse survivors (teal ribbons were worn at NCAA meets in the winter and spring). “Going into these events, I know I kept telling my family like I don’t know if I’m going to be able to calm myself down the way I did before and handle the nerves, but so far, so good.”

[SOURCE: NBC SPORTS]

Simone Biles admits that she was molested by USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nasar

All around Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles stepped forward Monday to allege she also was abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Biles joins 140 other women who have accused Nassar of abuse in his roles at USA Gymnastics and Michigan State. Read her statement below:

Simone Biles welcome home celebration

Gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles returned to Texas on Wednesday, and received a huge welcome after she touched down at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Mayor Sylvester Turner, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and other community leaders, along with the Texans Cheerleaders, family, friends and fans all gathered to show Biles a warm welcome. Watch video of the event below.

Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas Take Gold and Silver at World Championships

Simone Biles came to the World Championships without a rival the last three years. She’ll leave them peerless in gymnastics history.

Biles became the first woman to win three straight World all-around titles, prevailing by 1.083 points over Olympic champion Gabby Douglas in Glasgow, Scotland, on Thursday. It’s the largest margin of victory of her three titles.

Douglas, who also struggled on beam, earned silver after taking two years off following her Olympic all-around title. Douglas is the first Olympic women’s all-around champion to come back and earn a Worlds all-around medal since 1981.

“I’ll take it,” said Douglas, who last year roomed with Biles at her first national team camp since the Olympics. “I really wanted to prove everyone that my comeback was real. It wasn’t fake. It wasn’t for the fame.”

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