Biles soars to top of women’s gymnastics

Simone Biles won her 21st medal at the World Gymnastics Championships on Tuesday in Stuttgart, Germany, breaking the women’s record set by Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina in 2003. Biles is now two medals short of breaking Vitaly Scherbo’s overall record of 23 medals at the international competition.

Just how good is Biles? She is the first woman to perform at the World Championships a triple-twisting double flip in the floor exercise and a double-twisting double flip off the balance beam, both of which will go into the official gymnastics code of points as “the Biles.” She already has another floor exercise skill and a vault named after her. With Biles’ help, the U.S. women’s team won its seventh consecutive world or Olympic gold medal in Germany.

Dig deeper: USA Gymnastics shines in competition, but as an organization it failed to protect hundreds of gymnasts, including Biles, from sexual abuse by sports doctor Larry Nassar. Read more in the WORLD archives about the scandal and the brave gymnasts who exposed Nassar.