How 19-year-old Simone Biles became the best gymnast in history

Simone Biles hasn't won an Olympic medal — but she's already been hailed as the best gymnast in the world. She and fellow American Aly Raisman are heading to the all-around competition after some stellar performances on Sunday, nudging out their teammate Gabby Douglas.


Biles, 19, has been tearing up the gymnastics world since she emerged onto the international competition circuit in 2013. Now, with the Rio games underway, Biles is heavily favored for the all-around gold.


The 4' 8" gymnast from Texas even has a moved named after her on the floor routine called "The Biles" — a double half layout with a full twist, jumping straight into a split immediately after landing:


Biles got her start at age 6, when she went to a gymnastics center on a daycare field trip and started imitating the gymnasts training there.


The coach noticed her talent and sent Biles home with a letter, asking her parents to let their daughter try a gymnastics class.


A decade later, she started racking up medals at international competitions. By the time she was 17, media outlets were declaring her the best gymnast in the world.





She's been on a non-stop winning streak: Biles is a four-time US champion and a three-time world champion.




She's also won more world championship medals than any American woman in history — 14, to be exact.


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Two years ago, former gold medalist Mary Lou Retton raved that Biles "may be the most talented gymnast I’ve ever seen in my life."


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And legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi told the New York Times it was “almost a certainty” that Biles would win the all-around gold medal at the Olympics.


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She's so talented that there's a crazy-difficult trick named after her.


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At the 2013 World Championships, she debuted a tumbling pass so tough it was almost instantly dubbed "The Biles."


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Watch it right here.


But it's not just raw talent that makes Biles a champion: It's her electric performance quality.


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A video of her flawless floor routine at last week's P&G championships has already been viewed 14.5 million times



"Well, it doesn't really get much better than that." - Nastia Liukin on Simone Biles




But even during challenging routines, she remembers to have fun. “People think you have to be serious to do a good job,” she told the New York Times. “But I think if you’re having fun, you can do better."


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And she's already crushing the competition in Rio.


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On Sunday, Biles earned the top score in the women's all-around qualifying round, scoring a 62.366. No non-U.S. gymnast even broke 59 points.


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