The 25th time is more than the charm for Simone Biles.
The Olympic champion is now the proud owner of 25 Worlds medals after competing in the 2019 World Championships over the weekend.
Biles earned her 24th and 25th medals — both gold — in Stuttgart, Germany, taking home five of the six gold medals that were awarded Sunday, Oct. 13. NPR reported the gymnast won in the team competition, all-around, vault, as well as floor and beam. Biles’ achievement means she broke the previous record of 23 Worlds medals won by Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo in the 1990s. According to NBC Sports, the champion is also the first gymnast to win five gold medals at a single World Championships since 1958. Biles, who secured her 25th medal by doing one of her signature namesake moves, is now the most decorated gymnast ever — male or female.
Upon seeing the score of 15.066 that put her in first place, ESPN reported the 22-year-old leaped out of her seat, smiled, danced around and threw her fist in the air out of excitement.
“I was really excited,” Biles said after the meet. “I thought it was going to be at least a 14.8, 14.9, but to see a 15, I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s pretty crazy.’ I was really proud.”
The young athlete didn’t offer many remarks when asked about what it meant that she had scored 25 medals, however. NBC Sports reported that the moves she executed that led the double-double to be called the Biles, and the triple-double to be deemed the Biles II are what matters to the sports star. They will be named after her in the Code of Points upon approval by the International Gymnastics Federation.
But amid all the accolades and praise, Biles isn’t looking to compete forever. Before the meet, she said she’s 99 percent sure she will not return for World Championships past 2020.
“Everybody has to end it some time,” she said. “You can’t keep going for the rest of your life. I feel like I just want gymnastics to be part of my life, not my whole, entire life.”
Still, Biles’ mother, Nellie Biles, has sung her daughter’s praises on Twitter saying, “@Simone_Biles : Celebrating your 5 Gold Medals/Triple Double/Double Double/what a Blessing, so so proud of you. Love you.”
