07/27/2021 3:24 PM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 07/27/2021 3:24 PM
Among the many stories of overcoming among the figures that shine in the Olympic Games,
that of Simone Biles stands out
because this American athlete, the most awarded in sports gymnastics,
is an emerging from a past
that included a home with addicted parents, the passage through orphanages and having been part of a list of young people abused by a doctor of the national team.
In Tokyo 2020 and at the age of 24,
Biles faces his second Olympic event after having presented in Rio de Janeiro 2016
, where he won five medals and captivated the world with his routines, smile and technique.
Biles rose to fame at the 2013 World Championship
.
At just 16 years old, the gymnast won two golds, one in the floor modality and the other as individual general World Champion.
The preparation continued and a year later she won four world golds
, a feat she repeated in 2015 to become the first woman to win three consecutive titles.
In addition, he broke a record by winning ten gold medals in international competition.
The Olympic consecration in Rio de Janeiro, where he won four gold medals.
(AP)
In Rio 2016,
Simone Biles
repeated a performance that was once again spectacular.
He achieved four gold medals in the individual and team all-around events, floor exercises and horse jumping, adding a bronze metal on the balance beam.
On the way to
Tokyo 2020
, the American again set the standard at the World Cup: with an improved technique and at 24 years old, she once again climbed to the top of the podium in the team competition, all-around, balance beam, floor exercises and horse jump.
His great goal in Tokyo is to catch up with Nadia Comaneci, who between Montreal 1976 and Moscow 1980 added nine medals, five of them gold
.
The Romanian was the first gymnast to obtain a qualification 10 in the Olympic Games, achieved in Canada on the uneven bars, with just 14 years, eight months and six days.
The drama behind the success of Simone Biles
Simone Biles's conquests not only stand out in numbers but also went down in history for her almost reckless prowess.
On August 12, 2019, during the United States Gymnastics Championships, he
performed a double somersault with triple twist, something never before seen in artistic gymnastics
.
Simone Biles competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo: AFP / Ben Stansall
His are the exploits.
But
behind so much success there is a personal history marked by situations that make his time in sport even greater.
The biological daughter of Shanon Biles and Kelvin Clemins, two people addicted to drugs and alcohol, Simone was born on March 14, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio, and was the third of four siblings: Tavon, Ashley and Adria.
When he was three years old,
his mother Shanon lost custody of her four children due to drug and alcohol addictions
.
For the next three years the children moved from one orphanage to another until their maternal grandparents made the decision to adopt her and her younger sister, Adria, and raised them in Houston.
“Although my experience in the orphanages was early, I remember how I felt ignored.
As if my talents didn't count, and my voice didn't matter, ”the gymnast wrote last year in an open letter published by CNN.
"
My path to success began the day my grandfather and his wife officially adopted my sister and me,
" he added.
Biles not only suffered a difficult childhood because of what he lived with his family: he
was
also
one of the victims of Larry Nassar
, former doctor of the American team of that sport who is
serving today a sentence of between 60 and 175 years in prison for sexual assault on minors
.
Biles was one of the victims of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar, a former doctor for the US gymnastics team.
During the trial, 156 women who claimed to be victims of the doctor declared
, although it is estimated that the total would be about 300.
"I was so depressed. I didn't want to leave my room, I didn't want to do anything or see anyone. I slept all the time, because sleeping was basically better than facing the issue.
Sleeping was the closest thing to death for me at the time
. It was my way of escaping from reality, "he said in one of the chapters of the Simone vs.
Herself.
Gymnastics said: "Most know me as a happy, laughing and energetic girl. But lately I have been feeling broken and the more I try to shut off that voice in my head, the louder it screams at me. I am no longer afraid to tell my story.
I am also one of the survivors who suffered sexual abuse by Larry Nassar
”.
Biles claimed that Nassar took advantage of his trust.
“
It is completely unacceptable, disgusting, and abusive behavior
;
especially because it came from someone they told me to trust, "he said in his statement.
Simone went further in an interview she conducted last year and
blamed her country's Gymnastics Federation
: "They literally had a job to do and they couldn't protect us."
The four-time Olympic champion in Rio recounted in the documentary about her life that it
was difficult for her to accept that she had also been attacked during the years she spent at Martha and Béla Karolyi's ranch in Texas
, one of the largest training and concentration centers. of the American Gymnastics Federation.
"During all those years,
no one explained to us what sexual abuse was
. We did not know. Most of us did not go to school, we studied at home, so we had no one to speak to. And we did not know that we were victims," the gymnast continued. .
"I remember once asking one of my friends, 'If I've been touched here, have I been sexually assaulted?' At first I thought I was being dramatic. She said, 'Absolutely,' and I said, 'Are you I don't think so. 'In the end I ended up googling' sexual abuse '.
Today I realize that, somehow, I was one of the luckiest
, because it didn't happen to me as much as it did to other girls I knew. " commented.
Torments are not only from the past but have also come to affect your successful present.
The most notorious occurred with one of his older brothers:
Tevin, 24, was arrested and charged with triple murder
.
He is an active duty member of the US Army.
He was at the Fort Stewart military base in Georgia when he was arrested, now he is in the Liberty County jail serving his sentence.
Simone Biles arrives in Tokyo for her second Olympic event, (AP)
"Eating my feelings. Don't say a word to me
,
”
the gymnast wrote on her official Twitter account after the news of her older brother's arrest became known.
Days after what happened, he expressed his feelings.
“My heart aches for everyone involved, especially the victims and their families.
There is nothing I can say to heal the pain, but
I want to express my sincere condolences to all those affected by this terrible tragedy,
"he said.
For all the above, there is no exaggeration to indicate that
Simone Biles
is an eternal survivor.
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