GROWING THE SPORT Simone Biles posed in the corner of the floor Jazzy music filled the arena It was the 2019 US Championships And the superstar American gymnast was about to make history In an instant Biles began racing toward the far corner She performed a roundoff into a back handspring Then she exploded into the air The 4'8 gymnast flew 10 feet 3 m into the air spinning three times to her side and flipping backward twice Finally her feet hit the mat with just a Simone Biles performs on the uneven bars at the 2019 US Championships 5 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1
small hop on the floor Biles had completed the skill known as a triple-double No woman had previously done that in competition Biles was no stranger to making history In fact just two days earlier she had introduced another new skill the double-double dismount on balance beam Biles has four skills named for her because she was the first to do them in international competition Just as impressive is her medal count Combining extremely difficult gymnastics skills with elite execution Biles won four Olympic gold medals in 2016 And no gymnast male or female has matched her 19 world titles Biles’s high-flying athleticism stands out today It would have been totally foreign at the Larisa Latynina competes on the floor at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo Japan 6
