At 17 years old, Simone Biles has already made history in the gymnastics realm. She's captured success at the World level, and surpassed US records in the sport. But what now? What can we expect when looking into her future?



2014 World Championships Recap 

 

On October 10, 2014, Simone Biles followed in the footsteps of gymnastic greats Svetlana Khorkina and Shannon Miller, winning consecutive World Championship All-Around titles. As if that wasn’t enough, Biles took her winnings a step further, also claiming gold medals in the team final, on the balance beam and floor exercise, and eared silver on vault. With the conclusion of the Championships came even more accolades for America’s new golden girl- by winning five medals at the competition, Biles now leads the USA’s ranks in most medals obtained at a single World Championship (5), and leads the pack in total World gold medals (6).  

 

Means of Maintaining Her Dominance 

 

What makes Simone Biles so good? Simple. She has the ability to perform the hardest skills in the world, and the grace to execute them to perfection. These qualities are what have lead her to success in the past, and will continue to direct her in the future. In order to retain dominance in the years leading up to the 2016 Olympic Games, Biles will need to focus on increasing her levels of difficulty, and maintaining technique. Right now, her difficulty levels on each of the events are as follows: Vault- 6.40, Bars- 5.7, Beam- 6.4, Floor- 6.5. As everyone knows, gymnastics is a sport that gets more complicated every year, with new faces emerging, showcasing tricks thought previously improbable. Come this time next year, gymnasts will be performing skills that set the bar even higher. In order to keep up with the trend, Biles will need to increase her difficulty, either by upgrading to more challenging skills (even though her elements are already world class), or adding more into her already established routines. We already know of one area that could potentially increase her start values- vault. Right now, Simone competes one of the hardest vaults a woman could compete, the Amanar. In World All-Around finals, it was this event that gave her an early edge above her competitors. The Amanar has a high level of difficulty, and Biles has the ability to upgrade. In practice, we’ve seen her training a Yurchenko triple twist, a vault that has never been competed by a woman. She’s practiced this skill in the gym for multiple years now, giving her the experience she needs to perfect it in the next two years.  

 

Can Simone break a supposed gymnastic curse and win an Olympic All-Around title?

 

While winning an all-around title at a World Championship event is a feat most people never even dream of achieving, we have to look forward to the most significant sporting event our culture has come to recognize, the Olympic Games. Considering the past, World Championship success does not always indicate triumph at The Games. Shannon Miller is the most decorated US female gymnast, and despite winning back-to-back World Championship all-around titles in 1993 and 1994, she came up short at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, finishing second. Kim Zmeskal was the first American gymnast to win the all-around title at a World Championship (Indianapolis, 1991), and was the gold medal hopeful going into the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. On the first night of competition, Zmeskal made a irreversible mistake, falling off the beam during her compulsory routine. While she did come back with sensational routines on the other events, she ended up in 32nd place after the first night of competition. After clawing her way back in the team finals, Zmeskal barely qualified for the all-around portion, her last opportunity to seek redemption. Once again, she faltered on her first floor routine, stepped out of bounds, and watched her Olympic all-around dreams vanish. She later discovered that she had been training through a stress fracture in her ankle, present even before the Games began. 

 

The four American women who have won the Olympic All-Around title in previous years (1. Mary Lou Retton, 1984 2. Carly Patterson, 2004 3. Nastia Liukin, 2008 4. Gabby Douglas, 2012) have never grasped the gold at Worlds. Patterson and Liukin each came close, earning second place finishes, but came up short of their athletic potential to be on top of the podium. It would seem that the American’s either win a sole world medal, or Olympic, but never both.  The latest female gymnast to reach this golden pinnacle of World and Olympic all-around success is Lilia Podkopayeva, of Ukraine. In 1995, she won the all-around title at Worlds in Sabae, Japan, and made history in 1996 when she won the Olympic all-around title in Atlanta, Georgia. 

 

Simone has already broken gymnastic records and etched her name among the greats, but will she be able to retain her dominance until the Games in 2016? The average age for a female gymnast to peak in their sport is between 16 and 18 years old. Simone was 16 when she won her first all-around title in 2013, and 17 when she claimed her second. By the time the Rio Olympic Games roll around, Biles will be mathematically past per prime, competing at the age of 19. While it is possible to achieve the highest level of success at any age, Biles will no longer have the advantage of youth and health. Gymnastics is a sport that is physically and mentally demanding, taking its toll on each athlete. With the next Olympics being two years away, much uncertainty will arise as to whether she can continue on this grueling path for such a long amount of time. 



It's important to consider the realistic aspects of the sport, as previously mentioned, but we also have to take into account the heart, passion, and drive that Simone Biles encompasses. It's evident that she has a genuine love for this sport, and pride when competing for her country. Biles has already branded herself as one of America's greatest gymnasts, and will continue on with her bright future for years to come.