So when we did get an invitation to camp, we were very excited and we tried to showcase what Simone was good at. We were told, no, she's not ready, even though she had all of these skills, because her uneven bars skills were too weak. But when we first submitted videos to get her into developmental camp, the national team staff declined our request. Olympic head coach): When Simone became a Level 10, we started talking about her becoming an elite. That meant a foot in the door, an opportunity to impress the national team coordinator and her staff, and a first step on the road to the national team and perhaps, one day, the Olympics.Īimee Boorman (Biles' longtime coach, 2016 U.S. In 2011, when Biles was 13, Martha Karolyi invited her to her first developmental camp at the famed Karolyi Ranch in New Waverly, Texas. ![]() Now, in partnership with the 30 for 30 podcast "Heavy Medals: Inside the Karolyi Gymnastics Empire," we present an oral history of how Biles' unique journey to becoming the world's greatest gymnast helped her claim her power, find her voice and change the sport. Biles' story is proof that, contrary to the Karolyis' dictates, there is another way to win. As 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Wieber says, "She was the decider of our fate."įrom the time Biles began training in Houston with her longtime coach, Aimee Boorman, as an 8-year-old, she and her family took a different path. With every gold medal, Karolyi amassed more unchecked power, and she wielded it to handpick her teams and control the athletes, their coaches and the organization that employed her. Martha Karolyi ran the women's national team for 15 years and took the program to its greatest heights before stepping down after the 2016 Rio Games. In the authoritarian system the Karolyis created, gymnasts were expected to be silent and obedient. ![]() The accusations against Nassar set off a reckoning within the culture that had enabled his abuse, led by longtime coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi. It also would have been a reminder that the world's greatest gymnast came from a system that failed her and so many others - and of the work Biles is still doing to demand that the system be held accountable.īut Biles doesn't need another Olympic gold medal to solidify her standing as the greatest or to amplify her powerful voice. A dominant performance at the Tokyo Games - now postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic - would have meant more than just gold medals. This summer, Simone Biles was supposed to be leading USA Gymnastics into its first Olympics since national team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse. How Simone Biles found her voice and changed gymnastics culture ![]() You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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