Simone Biles’ Career’s Early Injury Struggles Unearthed as Parents Made $7.7 Million Decision to Fuel Her Gymnastics Success
Simone Biles is now synonymous with greatness in the gymnastics realm. And with 7 Olympic golds, it’s not far-fetched to say that she is the undisputed GOAT in gymnastics. But she was not handed this fame and success on a silver platter. Rather, the Colombus native had to work relentlessly hard. And the best example of this drive can be seen right after the 2021 Olympics. After being termed a quitter, Simone made it her life’s mission to make a comeback in Paris
And she tremendously achieved this mission. With 3 golds in Paris 2024, she reclaimed her all-around crown And since then, Simone Biles established herself as the undisputed queen. Surprisingly, all this glitz and glamor would have been in some serious jeopardy. Back when she was still struggling as a young gymnast, Biles suffered from an ankle injury. And that almost jeopardized her parents’ decision to build a brand new $7.7 million gym for Simone Biles.
According to her book, Courage to Soar, Biles narrated how she developed a bone spur from a botched landing. As per the gymnast, the injury was sustained at the Secret Classic in Chicago. While the injury was treated, her ankle still bothered her significantly. X-rays showed that Biles has a calcium buildup that needs to be trimmed down. Thus, the 11x Olympic champion went for the dreaded surgery. As Biles was asked to remove her newly done belly piercing, her anxious mind asked the doctors, “Will my parents be with me when I wake up?”
The answer from the doctors, however, did not help to calm Biles’ nerves down. “No. We don’t want anyone talking in the room before you wake up. We want you to come out of the anesthesia on your own,” the doctor replied. Luckily for Biles, there was one thing dear to her that was allowed with her inside the operation room. It was a monkey-printed blanket that Nellie Biles had gifted Biles a few winters back.
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Thankfully, the surgery went smoothly and Biles recovered pretty quickly. The gymnast came back to her home and within days she could run and jump around without feeling any pain. But this was not the end of her crisis. Eyeing to make a name for herself in the gymnastic realm, Biles trained under accomplished coach Aimee Boorman. However, one day, the 28-year-old was shocked to hear that Boorman would be leaving the gym that Biles practiced in. Realizing that her gymnastics career could be in jeopardy, the future goat came to her mother and narrated the incident. This was when Nellie Biles took a bold step.
Nellie Biles risked her career to build a golden future for Simone Biles
When Nellie Biles listened to her daughter’s crisis, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. Simone’s mother was an accomplished nurse and won a chain of hospitals that catered to the daily and lifestyle needs of the Biles family. Shockingly, she immediately decided to sell off the entire chain of her hospitals and build her daughter an exclusive new gym to practice in.
Nellie Biles also approached Aimee Boorman to stay put with a young Simone, and luckily, she agreed. The sacrifice of Nellie Biles soon bore rich fruit as Simone and Boorman continued together for the next 11 years. Competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Biles, under the close supervision of Boorman, won 5 Olympic medals to announce her arrival on the big stage in style.
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Well, that gym, as it is known now, is the World Champions Center. Becoming a hub for US gymnastics, the WCC now has an approximate revenue of $7.7 million, as reported by ‘Rocketreach.’ Thus, with things turning out pretty well for Simone Biles, looking back at her journey, she will surely cherish the whole of it.
It is quite surprising to imagine that someone as celebrated as Biles had to face such hardships. In fact, it would not be far-fetched to say that she was this close to having her dreams stripped away. But the resilience that has been the soundtrack of her career and her parents both proved to be too much for these injuries to conquer. Fans can only be grateful that this icon has a mother who is as iconic as her daughter.
