At age 14, Biles left her public school to be homeschooled. Making the commitment to competitive gymnastics would require sacrifice. Simon Biles made her first appearance in junior national competition at the 2011 American Classic in Houston, placing third in the all-around competition and first in the vault. Nellie Biles was a great help to Simone as well, sitting down with her at the beginning of each year to write a list of goals for the next 12 months and to record her progress throughout the year. With its use, she was able to focus for longer periods on the task before her, whether academic or gymnastic. Like most young people with this diagnosis, she was prescribed the stimulant Ritalin. At an early age, she received a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The exuberance and boundless energy that made Biles a star pupil at Bannon’s Gymnastix posed a different challenge to her teachers and classmates in public school. Biles beat a field of Olympians to win the world all-around title in her first major international meet. October 6, 2013: 16-year-old Simone Biles of Team USA after winning the gold medal in the floor exercise final of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships held at the Antwerp Sports Palace in Antwerpen, Belgium. The energetic child took to the training quickly and set out on the long road to becoming a champion. She began a training program at Bannon’s Gymnastix in Houston with Coach Aimee Boorman. When the coaches saw the six-year-old Simone successfully imitating the feats of girls in their teens, they wrote a note to the family suggesting that the child take regular gymnastic classes. On a daycare field trip at age six, she was taken to a gym and saw older girls practicing gymnastics. “Just a very brave child,” is how she describes herself at that age. Her natural strength and high energy combined with an unusual degree of physical daring. From the beginning, Simone was an active child, running and jumping wherever she could. They gave Simone and Adria a secure upbringing in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, and the girls have always regarded Ron and Nellie as their mother and father. Nellie is a trained nurse who owned and operated a string of nursing homes in the Houston area. Ron Biles is an Air Force veteran and former air traffic controller. Simone’s older brother and sister were adopted by Ron Biles’s sister. After spending time in foster care, three-year-old Simone and her younger sister, Adria, were adopted by Shannon’s father, Ron Biles, and his second wife, Nellie. Her birth father abandoned the family, and her mother, Shannon, was unable to care for Simone and her three siblings.

Both of her parents struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction. Ma2002: Simone Biles at age six with younger sister, Adria.

Simone biles vault