During the 2019 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, American Simone Biles, 22, officially became the most decorated female gymnast in history. A revolutionary athlete, Biles is a force to be reckoned with, both in and out of the arena. 

At the Championships in Germany, in addition to becoming the overall most decorated gymnast, Biles beat out 1990s-era Belarusian gymnast Vitaly Scherbo’s record for the number of specifically-World Championship medals. Biles now has twenty-five, nineteen of which are gold. This year, she won first place in the team, all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise competitions. 

After the 2016 Olympics where Biles took the world by storm, winning four gold medals and one bronze, she went on a two-year hiatus from gymnastics to lower stress and restore her mental health. Of course, she, along with dozens of other gymnasts, was caught up in the painful process of convicting USA Gymnastics and Michigan State Univeristy doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. The US Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics are still grappling with the necessary systematic changes that desperately need to be made that were revealed by this process. One might think this long break would have set her back from the competition, but after a year of training, she has come back just as impressive as ever, still miles ahead of the rest of the gymnasts.  

In fact, Biles is actively widening the gap between herself and her competitors but changing the sport itself. Prior to these World Championships, Biles had two elements named after her. (When a gymnast debuts a move, it is named after her.) During the competition, however, she doubled that count, performing a triple-double (double backflip with three twists) in the floor exercise and a double-double dismount (double backflip with two twists) off the beam. The general public was absolutely in awe at these groundbreaking moves, with the videos going viral on social media. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), however, was apparently not as impressed. 

FIG awarded the double-double beam dismount as only one point more difficult than the full-in, a considerably easier dismount. In response to this disappointing news, Biles didn’t hold back when pointing out the ludicrousness of the ruling. “hahahaHAHAHAHAHhahaHahaAhahAhahahaAhahahHAHAahaaaaaaaHa bullshit,” she tweeted. With her characteristic honesty, Biles stood up for her extraordinary abilities, an inspiration to all who feel undervalued. 

Clearly, Biles doesn’t shy away from putting her opinion out there, especially when it comes to making sure others give her the appropriate credit for her contributions. Among these contributions is that she leader of the American team of gymnasts. One of these gymnasts, Sunisa Lee, is only 16 years old. She leaned on Biles’s support during the competition. “Simone has so much experience, and she is very inspiring…. She has given me a lot of pep talks and been there through it all,” Lee said of Biles. 

Biles clearly knows her worth, and isn’t afraid to assert it. However, she hasn’t lost her sense of wonder and appreciation for her growing collection of accolades. The morning after she won the all-around gold, she tweeted, “everytime feels just like the first.”