Topline
Simone Biles earned her eighth Olympic medal Tuesday when Team USA won the gold in the women’s team final, making Biles—who competed in every event—the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history.
Simone Biles competes in the balance beam event of the artistic gymnastics women’s team final during … [+]
Key Facts
Team USA won the gold medal—which was Biles’ eighth Olympic medal—at the women’s team final with a score of 171.296, handily beating Italy and Brazil.
Biles led the team to its gold medal Tuesday, competing in each event and performing her signature Biles II move on vault (a Yurchenko double pike)—though she did not perform an expected new move on bars that will be named after her if she does compete with it later in the games.
Prior to Tuesday’s win, Biles was tied at seven Olympic medals with Shannon Miller, a gymnast who competed in the 1992 and the 1996 Olympics, where she was part of the team known as the Magnificent Seven that became the first U.S. women’s gymnastics team to win gold.
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Big Number
38. That’s the total number of medals—including Olympic and world medals—Biles has, making her the most decorated gymnast in history.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Biles made $7.1 million last year, meaning she tied for the 16th-highest paid female athlete. A vast majority of her earnings—$7 million—came from off-field pay, while we estimated she made about $100,000 in on-field earnings.
What To Watch For
What else Biles medals in. She locked in a spot in the individual event finals for vault, floor and balance beam after scoring a remarkable 59.566 in qualifiers Sunday despite experiencing a minor calf injury during warmups. Biles and her teammate, Suni Lee, will also compete in the individual all-around competition final Thursday.
Tangent
On Monday, the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won its first medal since the 2008 Beijing Games, capturing bronze. The team previously won bronze in 2008 and silver in 2004, though it hasn’t won a gold medal since 1984.
Key Background
Team USA, which is composed of Biles, Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezley Rivera, was the favorite to win gold in the women’s team final, and Brazil, China, and Italy were seen as other medal contenders. Biles is also the favorite for gold in the all-around competition, vault and floor, and Lee is the favorite to win gold on the uneven bars. Biles is the most recent beam world champion, but that event is considered a wildcard this year as Lee, China’s Zhou Yaqin and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade are competing, as well.
Further Reading
Israel and Hamas. Previously, she has covered a range of topics from Donald Trump’s legal battles to Taylor Swift’s path to becoming a billionaire. She joined Forbes in April 2022 and is based in Colorado. Prior to joining Forbes, Bohannon covered local news and spent time at the Fort Collins Coloradoan and the Arizona Republic. She graduated with a degree in journalism from Creighton University and has an MA in investigative journalism from Arizona State. Follow Bohannon for continued coverage of pop culture, politics and updates on the war in Gaza.
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