Olympian Simone Biles credits adoption with her success

In an interview on the Today show on Tuesday, Biles told host Hoda Kotb that if not for adoption, “I would not be here today.” She also said that she saw herself becoming a mother at some point in her future. The pro-life organization March for Life shared a clip of Biles discussing her adoption.

Who is Simone Biles? During the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, Biles became the most decorated gymnast in Olympic history. She earned gold medals in the all-around category and women’s vault routine and won a silver medal in the women’s floor routine. She also snagged a team gold medal along with the other members of the Women’s USA Gymnastics team.

The veteran made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games. She snagged seven podium finishes, including four gold medals, at Rio and the 2021 Tokyo Games. She has won 23 gold medals in the annual Women’s Gymnastics World Championships since 2013. She also netted four silver medals and three bronze medals in the same period.

Who adopted Biles? Her biological grandfather, Ronald Biles, and his wife Nellie adopted Simone and her younger sister Adria when Simone was six years old, according to TODAY. The sisters, and their two older siblings, had been in and out of the foster care system years before the adoption took place. Simone and Adria’s biological parents struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, and her mother was sometimes in jail, Simone has said in other interviews.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Muncy’s report in the WORLD archives about Biles and other gymnasts demanding compensation from the FBI for its mishandling of sexual abuse cases involving former USA Gymnastics coach Larry Nassar. And read my report in The SIft about how the FBI ultimately settled many claims regarding the coach.