Roughly one year ago, Houston native Simone Biles returned from taking a break from the gym after the Rio Olympics. After an incredible performance at the World Championships on Saturday, Biles became the first American to win a medal in every single event. Biles now holds the world record for the most career world titles with an astonishing number of 14.
“I think there’s a lot to be proud of. I’m here, made all the [event finals], medaled in all the events, and I survived,” Biles said.
According to the USA Gymnastics website Biles further explained,“I wish some of [my routines] would have been better, but I’m really proud of the outcome.”
It is incredible to think that Biles was able to accomplish this in a mere year. Even though that is amazing in itself, the fact that Biles accomplished all of this while in excruciating pain is astonishing.
The night before qualifying round, Biles suffered from a massive kidney stone. Instead of getting in any last minute practice before the qualifying rounds began, Biles spent the night in an Emergency Room in Doha, Qatar. Because of doping regulations, Biles was unable to take any prescribed pain medication and only had the option of pushing through the pain and performing.
Not only did 21-year-old Biles qualify, she dominated during the week of finals. Biles left Qatar as the most decorated World Championship female gymnast of all time.
The six medals that she won during the World Championships has now brought her career record up to 20 and she is tied with Svetlana Khorkina. Biles will almost certainly break this tied record if she decides to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Biles is already looking ahead and thinks that this accomplishment is only the beginning of what’s possible for her. “Hopefully I feel more confident next year going into all of the events,” Biles explained. “We’ll see about upgrades. I’m not sure. We’ll see.”