Simone Biles just made history again by winning her 24th world championship medal to become the most decorated gymnast, male or female, ever.
Her flawless performance on the balance beam earned her a stellar 15.066 points Sunday at the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. It also helped her claim the title from male gymnast Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus. Scherbo set the long-standing record with 23 medals in the ‘90s, according to The Washington Post.
Biles, the reigning Olympic and five-time all-around world champion, will likely break her medal record again when she competes on floor exercise, the final event of Sunday’s competition. This will also probably be Biles’ final appearance at the World Gymnastics Championships, as she previously said that she would be retiring after the 2020 Olympics.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
"I feel like my body's gone through a lot and it's kind of just falling apart — not that you can actually tell but I really feel it a lot of the time,” said Biles, who has won gold in the world competition every year she has competed since her first time in 2013.
Going out with a bang, two of Biles’ signature moves — the triple-double and a double-double dismount from the balance beam — were named after her by USA Gymnastics. And while she celebrated her historic wins and accolades, Biles noted they aren’t what keeps her going day-to-day.
"I feel like I never think of records,” Biles told the New York Times. “I just go out there and do what I came to do, which is to compete for the country."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT