Jessica Howard (born 1984) is a retired rhythmic gymnast . Howard is a USA Hall of Fame gymnast, three-time National Champion and international medalist.
109-530: Howard started gymnastics when she was three years old, and fell in love with rhythmic gymnastics at age 10. After climbing the international ranks to top 12 in the world during her career, she retired due to injury in 2002. She was part of the national team from 1997 to 2002, and became a 3x National Champion; fifteen-time U.S. Gold Medalist; Goodwill Games Bronze Medalist; Pan American Silver Medalist; Pacific Alliance 4x Gold Medalist; World Games top 10; World Championships finalist and Junior Pan American Champion. She
218-417: A GoPro video of Nassar allegedly molesting girls in a swimming pool. Some of the material was found on a hard drive and disks that Nassar discarded in his trash bin outside his home. Nassar pleaded guilty to three federal child pornography charges on July 11, 2017, and was given three consecutive 20-year prison sentences by U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff on December 7, 2017. On November 15, 2017, it
327-703: A National Letter of Intent in November 2014, planning to defer enrollment until after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Instead, on July 29, 2015, she announced that she would turn professional and forfeit her NCAA eligibility to compete for UCLA. Biles first tried gymnastics at age 6 during a day-care field trip. The instructors suggested she continue with the sport, and Biles soon enrolled in an optional training program at Bannon's Gymnastics. She began training with coach Aimee Boorman at age eight. Biles began her elite gymnastics career at age 14 on July 1, 2011, at
436-498: A Title IX complaint against Nassar in 2014. Each felony charge carried a possible sentence of four years in prison. On October 29, 2019, Eaton County District Court Judge Julie Reincke ruled there was sufficient evidence to bind Simon over for trial in Eaton County circuit court . On May 13, 2020, Eaton County Judge John Maurer dismissed the charges against Simon. The Michigan attorney general's office appealed but their argument
545-576: A U.S. Justice Department report. Dozens of officials at USAG, MSU, and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC, later USOPC) ultimately resigned under pressure or was fired. Several coaches and officials faced criminal charges, though few were convicted. A central figure was Larry Nassar , a national-team doctor for USAG and osteopathic physician in MSU's athletic department. More than 265 women said Nassar had sexually abused them under
654-510: A cage before someone is raped". McCabe continued coaching for seven years until one gymnast's mother went to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with emails that he sent to her 11-year-old daughter. McCabe was charged with molesting gymnasts, secretly videotaping girls changing clothes, and posting their nude images on the Internet. He pleaded guilty and is serving a 30-year sentence. In
763-518: A child. Michigan attorney general Bill Schuette stated that the assaults began when the victim was 6 years old in 1998 and lasted until 2005. He pleaded not guilty to three charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against a minor during his first court appearance. The following month, Nassar was indicted on federal child pornography charges. According to the FBI, over 37,000 images and videos of child pornography were seized from Nassar's home, including
872-465: A clinic and gymnastics club at MSU, where he was a faculty member. Despite these and other occasional revelations about the sexual abuse of gymnasts, the general public was unaware of the scope of abuse and the efforts to cover it up until September 2016, when The Indianapolis Star began running a series of articles based on its eight-month investigation of the abuse. The investigation drew on interviews and more than 5,600 pages of court records from
981-651: A clinic on the MSU campus. It also stated that Nassar would enter a guilty plea in Ingham County on November 22 and would then plead guilty in Eaton County on November 29 and would serve at least 25 years in prison for these crimes. Others who reported assaults by Nassar to the police were permitted to make victim impact statements during his sentencing hearing. During his appearance before Judge Rosemarie Aquilina in Ingham County Circuit Court, and under
1090-512: A fall from the balance beam during her final routine of the meet. She won the gold on vault and floor, tied for the silver on balance beam with Alyssa Baumann , and finished fourth on the uneven bars. She was once again selected for the Senior National Team. On September 17, Biles was selected to compete at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning , China. She dominated
1199-481: A fall off the beam. Biles traveled to Jesolo , Italy, to compete at the 2013 City of Jesolo Trophy . She took the all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise titles in addition to contributing to the U.S. team's gold medal. She and the U.S. delegation next competed at an international tri-meet in Chemnitz , Germany, against teams from Germany and Romania . The U.S. won the team gold medal. In addition, Biles won
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#17331071320821308-601: A letter that Nassar had sent her before sentencing, in which he blamed his accusers. She described him as a dangerous individual who showed little remorse and said that she "signed [his] death warrant". During his Eaton County Circuit Court appearance, Nassar pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual misconduct with three children under the age of 16. On February 5, 2018, Judge Janet Cunningham sentenced Nassar to an additional 40 to 125 years in state prison. This sentence will run consecutive to Nassar's federal sentence but concurrent to his previous state sentence from Ingham County. It
1417-458: A member of the 2000 US Olympics team , came forward as a victim and claimed that Steve Penny pressed her to publicly support USAG at the height of the Nassar scandal. In November, Florida Gators gymnasts Kennedy Baker and Alyssa Baumann made public allegations against Nassar; Baker said she was abused during the 2012 Olympic Trials . In November 2016, Nassar was charged with sexual assault of
1526-533: A physician and agreed to pay a fine of $ 35,000. Strampel was scheduled to be released early for good behavior on April 3, 2020, after serving about eight months in jail, but was released even earlier: on March 19, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 15, 2021, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued a per curiam opinion rejecting his appeal and affirming Judge Draganchuk's rulings. On August 4, 2021,
1635-607: A point ahead of silver medalist Gabby Douglas and bronze medalist Larisa Iordache). With that victory, Biles became the first woman to win three consecutive all-around titles in World Gymnastics Championships history. During day one of event finals, Biles competed on vault, taking bronze behind Maria Paseka (RUS) and Hong Un Jong (PRK). On day two, she competed on the balance beam and floor exercise, retaining her world title in both events by large margins. This brought Biles's total World Championships medal count to 14,
1744-466: A report. USAG subsequently announced various changes, including a requirement that all USAG members report any suspected sexual misconduct to appropriate authorities and the US Center for SafeSport . By year's end, the scandal had cost USAG several of its largest corporate sponsors, including Procter & Gamble , Kellogg's , Under Armour , The Hershey Company , and AT&T . Procter & Gamble
1853-717: A risk to the gymnasts he treated. On September 4, USAG CEO and President Kerry Perry resigned after USOC's new CEO Sarah Hirshland called for a change in USAG leadership and the US Elite Coaches Association called for a vote of no confidence in Perry. On October 12, Mary Bono was appointed USAG's interim president and CEO. Bono resigned four days later after many people, including Raisman and Biles, criticized her ties to her former law firm, Faegre Baker Daniels , which had helped cover up Nassar's crimes. On November 5, 2018,
1962-441: A score of 15.966. Teammate Aly Raisman won the silver with a score of 15.500 and Amy Tinkler of Great Britain won bronze scoring 14.933. With Biles' five total medals along with Madison Kocian 's silver medal on the uneven bars, Team USA claimed a medal in every women's artistic gymnastics event for the first time since 1984. With four Olympic gold medals, Biles set an American record for most gold medals in women's gymnastics at
2071-486: A score of 62.299, 4.467 points ahead of second-place finisher U.S. teammate MyKayla Skinner . Later that month, Biles was nominated for the James E. Sullivan Award . She ended the month at the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy , winning the all-around title with 62.100. On July 25, she competed at the U.S. Classic and finished first in the all-around, ahead of 2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas and Maggie Nichols , with
2180-439: A score of 62.400. On the beam, she scored 15.250 and took first at the event, ahead of Douglas and 2012 Olympic beam bronze medalist Aly Raisman . She scored 16.050 on the floor and claimed first in the event, 1.050 points ahead of Douglas and also ahead of Nichols and Bailie Key . She had a small hop on her Amanar vault and scored 16.000. She then scored 15.150 on her second vault, to score an average of 15.575 and place first in
2289-513: A seven-time champion on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, a two-time uneven bars champion, and the only woman to win all five gold medals in a single championships twice ( 2018 , 2024 ). Biles is the sixth woman to win an individual all-around title at both the Olympics and the World Championships and the first since Lilia Podkopayeva in 1996 to hold both titles simultaneously. She is
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#17331071320822398-474: A single Games, and equaled several other records with her medals won in Rio. Biles winning four gold medals was the first instance of a quadruple gold medallist in women's gymnastics at a single Games since Ecaterina Szabo (Romania) in 1984, and fifth overall, after Larisa Latynina (USSR, 1956), Agnes Keleti (Hungary, 1956), Věra Čáslavská (Czechoslovakia, 1968) and Szabo. Biles became the sixth female gymnast to have won an individual all-around title at both
2507-589: A statement at Nassar's court sentencing in which she also accused Nassar of sexually abusing her during her time at USAG. On May 1, 2018, former national team member Sabrina Vega also accused Nassar of sexual abuse, claiming she was abused hundreds of times, beginning when she was 12. In August 2018, UCLA gymnasts and 2012 and 2016 Olympians Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian came forward as victims of Nassar. The following month, Alabama Crimson Tide gymnasts Bailie Key and Amanda Jetter also came forward with accusations against Nassar. In October, Tasha Schwikert ,
2616-449: A two-time champion on vault ( 2016 , 2024 ), the 2016 champion and 2024 silver medalist on floor exercise, and a two-time bronze medalist on balance beam ( 2016 , 2020 ). Biles led the gold medal-winning United States teams in 2016 , dubbed the " Final Five ," and in 2024 , dubbed the " Golden Girls ". At the 2020 Summer Olympics , where she was favored to win at least four of the six available gold medals, she withdrew from most of
2725-403: Is a six-time individual all-around champion ( 2013 , 2014 , 2015 , 2018 , 2019 and 2023 ), six-time floor exercise champion (2013–2015, 2018–2019, 2023), and four-time balance beam champion (2014–2015, 2019, 2023), all record-high totals. She is also a two-time vault champion (2018–2019) and a member of a record-high five gold medal-winning United States teams (2014–2015, 2018–2019, 2023). She
2834-402: Is also a four-time World silver medalist (2013–2014 and 2023 on vault, 2018 on uneven bars), a three-time World bronze medalist (2015 on vault, 2013 and 2018 on balance beam). Domestically, Biles has won a record-high nine United States national all-around championships (2013–2016, 2018–2019, 2021, 2023–2024); her win in 2024 made her the oldest female gymnast to ever win the title. She is also
2943-619: Is more important to USA Gymnastics, the Board of Directors and CEO Steve Penny than protecting athletes, which requires sustained vigilance by everyone—coaches, athletes, parents, administrators and officials. We are saddened when any athlete has been harmed in the course of his or her gymnastics career". The USAG also said that it required criminal background checks for all of its coaches. The Star's investigation, however, found that "some coaches are fired at gym after gym without being tracked or flagged by USA Gymnastics, or losing their membership with
3052-456: Is widely regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. With 11 Olympic medals, she is tied with Věra Čáslavská as the second-most decorated female Olympic gymnast, and has the most Olympic medals earned by a U.S. gymnast. At the Olympic Games , Biles is a two-time gold medalist in the individual all-around ( 2016 , 2024 ). She is also
3161-531: The 2018 National Championships . She placed first in every event over the two days of competition, the first woman to do so since Dominique Dawes in 1994. Biles won the all-around title 6.55 points ahead of second-place finisher and reigning world champion Morgan Hurd and set a record for the most national all-around titles with five. This placement also marked her fourth national vault title, third national balance beam and floor exercise titles, and first national uneven bars title. Her 60.100 all-around score from
3270-476: The Alternate Olympics in 1984. The overall record for most women's Olympic gymnastics medals at a single game (majority gold), remains six medals (Latynina, 1956, 1960, and 1964, Keleti, 1956, Čáslavská, 1968, Daniela Silivas , 1988). Biles and her teammate Gabby Douglas are the only American female gymnasts to win both the individual all-around gold and team gold at the same Olympics. Douglas won both at
3379-494: The Karolyi Ranch gave Nassar an opportunity to take advantage of the gymnasts and made them afraid to speak up about the abuse. This biographical article related to American rhythmic gymnastics is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal relates to the sexual abuse of hundreds of gymnasts—primarily minors —over two decades in
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3488-455: The Karolyi Ranch gymnastics training facility in Texas. On October 29, 2018, Penny entered a plea of not guilty. In April 2022, prosecutors dropped the charges against Penny. On November 20, 2018, former MSU president Lou Anna Simon was charged with two felonies and two misdemeanor counts for lying to the police. She was accused of falsely telling investigators she did not know the nature of
3597-653: The Presidential Medal of Freedom . In 2023, she won her eighth U.S. Gymnastics title, breaking the 90-year-old U.S. Gymnastics title record previously held by Alfred Jochim . Biles has won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year thrice (2017, 2019, 2020), and Comeback of the Year once (2024). Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio , the third of four siblings. Her birth mother, Shanon Biles,
3706-524: The Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 , which directed the creation of the U.S. Center for SafeSport . Since 1990, USA Gymnastics has kept a list of people permanently banned from coaching for sexual abuse and other reasons. The list includes Robert Dean Head, a USAG coach in Kentucky who in 1992 pled guilty to raping a 12-year-old, and Don Peters ,
3815-766: The 2011 American Classic in Houston . She placed third all-around, first on vault and balance beam, fourth on floor exercise, and eighth on uneven bars. Later that month, Biles competed at the 2011 U.S. Classic in Chicago, Illinois , where she placed 20th all-around, fifth on balance beam and floor exercise. Biles' first meet of 2012 was the American Classic hosted in Huntsville, Texas . She placed first all-around and on vault, tied for second on floor exercise, placed third on balance beam, and fourth on uneven bars. Biles' placement in
3924-596: The 2012 London Games. Biles was chosen by Team USA to be the flag bearer in the closing ceremonies, becoming the first American female gymnast to receive this honor. Biles did not compete in 2017. After the 2016 Rio Games, Biles co-wrote an autobiography with journalist Michelle Burford, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance , which reads: "I want people to reach for their dreams and there are so many people who have inspired me with their love and encouragement along
4033-608: The 2012 London Olympic team and personal coach of Jordyn Wieber . Geddert operated two gyms that employed Nassar, including Twistars, one of the locations where gymnasts reported being abused by Nassar. Gymnasts had also accused Geddert of being abusive and dismissive of their injuries. One gymnast said Geddert had thrown her onto the low bar hard enough to tear the muscles in her stomach and end her career. They have said that Geddert's abuse left them vulnerable to Nassar's manipulation. Geddart retired soon after his suspension. That same month, USAG officially cut ties with Karolyi Ranch ,
4142-590: The American Classic secured her a spot to compete at the 2012 USA Gymnastics National Championships. She later competed at the 2012 U.S. Classic in Chicago. She finished first all-around and on vault, second on floor exercise, and sixth on balance beam. In June, she made her second appearance at the U.S. National Championships in St. Louis , Missouri . She finished third all-around, first on vault, and sixth on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. After this performance, Biles
4251-507: The Americans won the gold with a score of 184.897, over 8 points ahead of the silver medal Russian team. Biles won the gold medal in the individual all-around on August 11, ahead of teammate Aly Raisman and Russia's Aliya Mustafina . Biles earned a total score of 62.198 with 15.866 on the vault, 14.966 on the uneven bars, 15.433 on the balance beam, and 15.933 on the floor. Biles had the highest scores on vault, balance beam, and floor; she had
4360-399: The FBI. Many criticized USAG's leaders for their handling of the allegations against Nassar, including U.S. senators who said the organization should have reported him to law enforcement more quickly. In March 2017, Juliet Macur of The New York Times criticized USAG executives for skipping the 2017 congressional hearing on protecting young athletes from sexual abuse, and noted that
4469-599: The McCabe case, released after the Star's Marisa Kwiatkowski requested the documents. In September 2016, The Indianapolis Star reported that Rachael Denhollander was one of two former gymnasts who had made accusations of sexual abuse against Nassar. Following those criminal complaints, MSU reassigned Nassar from his clinical and teaching duties and fired him later that month. Since then, over 250 women and girls have accused Nassar of sexually abusing them; many of them were minors at
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4578-494: The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Strampel and Nassar were the only two MSU employees incarcerated for their role in the scandal. A former MSU coach, Kathie Klegas, served 90 days plus probation; her conviction was overturned on appeal. On October 17, 2018, former USAG CEO Steve Penny was arrested on charges of evidence tampering in the Nassar case—specifically, of removing related documents from
4687-787: The USAG board, lest the USOC decertify the USAG. The USOC also announced that it was launching an investigation into the scandal. All remaining USAG board members resigned on January 31. Two days later, the Wall Street Journal reported that USOC leaders, who had previously claimed that they had learned of abuse claims in 2016, had actually heard the allegations the previous year. The Journal reported that in July 2015, USOC Chief Executive Scott Blackmun had been told by Penny that an investigation uncovered possible criminal behavior by Nassar against Olympic athletes, and that two months later, Penny had detailed
4796-482: The USOC announced that it was starting the process to decertify USAG as the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. One month later, USAG filed for bankruptcy . Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( née Biles ; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast . Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She
4905-424: The United States team win their third consecutive gold medal at a World Championships event. During the all-around final, Biles performed below her usual standard, taking a large hop on the vault, landing out of bounds on floor (which she stated was a first ), and grasping the beam to prevent a fall. However, her final score of 60.399 was more than enough to secure the title with her largest margin of victory yet (over
5014-453: The United States, starting in the 1990s. It is considered the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history. More than 500 athletes alleged that they were sexually assaulted by gym owners, coaches, and staff working for gymnastics programs across the country, including USA Gymnastics (USAG) and Michigan State University (MSU). Hundreds of them sued USAG, MSU, and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC, later USOPC), which settled
5123-708: The World Championships and the Olympics—the others being Larisa Latynina, Věra Čáslavská , Ludmilla Tourischeva , Elena Shushunova , and Lilia Podkopayeva . Biles is the first female gymnast since Lilia Podkopayeva (Ukraine) in 1996 to win gold in the all-around as well as in an event final, and the first female gymnast since Podkopayeva to win the Olympic all-around title while holding the World and European/American individual all-around titles. She joined Latynina (1956–1960), Čáslavská (1964–1968), and Luydmila Tourischeva (1968–1972), as
5232-546: The World Team Selection Camp. She placed first in the all-around as well as first in vault and floor exercise. She placed second on the uneven bars behind McCusker, and fourth on the balance beam (due to hands touching the mat on dismount) behind Kara Eaker , McCusker, and Ragan Smith . Biles debuted a new vault: a Yurchenko with a half turn onto the table with a stretched salto forward off with two full twists ( Cheng with an extra half twist). The following day she
5341-492: The all-around, Biles performed cleanly on all four events, bettering her bars score from qualifications by more than a point, and won her second consecutive world all-around title ahead of Ross and Romanian Larisa Iordache . Biles became the second American woman to repeat as world all-around champion, following Miller (1993 and 1994), and the first woman of any nationality to do so since Russia's Svetlana Khorkina (2001 and 2003). Biles finished behind North Korea's Hong Un Jong in
5450-516: The allegations against Nassar to USOC's head of security. Blackmun resigned on February 28, 2018. On February 2, Valeri Liukin resigned as national team coordinator. On February 28, Raisman filed a lawsuit against USAG and the USOC, claiming both organizations "knew or should have known" about the ongoing abuse. On May 1, former national team member Sabrina Vega sued USAG, the USOC, and Béla and Márta Károlyi , claiming they ignored signs about Nassar's behavior or should have known he posed
5559-454: The balance beam final, she grabbed the beam with her hands (a mandatory 0.5-point deduction) after underrotating her front tuck and scored 14.733. Despite her mistake, she won the bronze behind teammate Laurie Hernandez , who won the silver with a score of 15.333, and Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands, who won the gold with a score of 15.466). In the floor exercise final, she won the gold with
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#17331071320825668-529: The best of my knowledge, there's no duty to report if you are—if you are a third-party to some allegation...You know, that lies with the person who has first-hand knowledge." Penny would resign under pressure in March 2017. Also in 2015, USAG quietly fired its longtime Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar "after learning of athlete concerns". Nassar was a licensed osteopathic physician and the national team sports-medicine doctor for USAG. But Nassar continued to run
5777-536: The competition after the qualification round due to "the twisties ", a temporary loss of air awareness while performing twisting elements. She won a silver medal with the United States team nicknamed the "Fighting Four" due to the adversity they faced. At the World Championships , she is the most decorated - male or female - artistic gymnast of all time with 30 total medals in which 23 of them are Gold. Biles
5886-539: The event, ahead of 2014 Worlds vault bronze medalist and teammate MyKayla Skinner, who averaged 14.950. Biles ended on bars and scored a 15.100 to claim the all-around title. She placed fourth in the event behind 2014 Worlds teammate Madison Kocian , Douglas, and Key. At the 2015 U.S. National Championships, Biles secured her third all-around national title, becoming only the second woman ever to do so, 23 years after Kim Zmeskal (1990, 1991, 1992). Biles, along with Douglas, Dowell , Kocian, Nichols, Raisman, and Skinner,
5995-528: The first day of competition was the first score recorded above 60 since her own all-around victory at the 2016 Olympics. She was named to her seventh national team and was invited to the October selection camp for the 2018 World Championships. At the 2018 Youth Olympics , the mixed multi-discipline teams were named for gymnastics legends, including Biles, Nadia Comăneci , and Kōhei Uchimura . The team named for Biles won gold. In October, Biles participated in
6104-521: The former national training center for the national team and a site where Nassar sexually assaulted many gymnasts. Within weeks, the Karolyi Ranch website announced that the facility had closed. On January 22, 2018, three members of the USAG board of directors resigned. After Nassar's sentencing on January 24, 2018, the USOC published an open letter calling for the resignations of the other members of
6213-454: The fourth female gymnast to win every major all-around title in an Olympic cycle. Biles joined Mary Lou Retton in 1984, Shannon Miller in 1992, and Nastia Liukin in 2008, in winning five women's gymnastics medals at a single Olympics, along with Szabo (Roumania, 1984), Nadia Comaneci (Roumania, 1976), and Karin Janz (East Germany, 1972). Olga Mostepanova (USSR) also won five gold medals at
6322-406: The gold medal on vault and floor exercise, receiving scores of at least 16 all four times. She also won the gold medal on the balance beam and placed fourth on uneven bars. On July 10, Biles was named to the team for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics , alongside Gabby Douglas , Laurie Hernandez , Madison Kocian , and Aly Raisman . In September 2016, Biles' medical information was released, and she
6431-454: The gymnasts and made them afraid to speak up about the abuse. Rachael Denhollander, one of the first women to publicly accuse Nassar, said in court in May 2017 that Nassar sexually abused her on five doctor's visits in 2000 when she was 15 years old. Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney , using the #MeToo hashtag on Twitter , stated that Nassar repeatedly molested her, starting in 2008 when she
6540-399: The highest score recorded under the 2017–2020 Code of Points despite a fall on the uneven bars and an out-of-bounds penalty on floor exercise. She showed numerous upgrades to her routines from 2016, including a Fabrichnova (double-twisting double back dismount) and a Van Leeuwen on uneven bars, and a Moors (double-twisting double layout) on floor exercise. In August, Biles competed at
6649-498: The hospital. The next day, she qualified to the all-around, vault, balance beam and floor exercise finals in first place, and to the uneven bars final in second place behind Nina Derwael of Belgium. After successfully performing the vault she premiered at the selection camp, it was named the Biles in the Code of Points, and given a difficulty value of 6.4 (for the 2017–2020 Code of Points), which
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#17331071320826758-475: The most for any American, and total gold medal count to 10, the most for any woman in World Championships history. In April, Biles began her season at the Pacific Rim Championships, where she won the all-around title and had the highest score on vault (where she debuted a more difficult second vault), floor exercise (where she debuted a new floor routine), and balance beam. Additionally, the U.S. won
6867-483: The national coach for the 1984 Olympic team , who was banned in 2011 after two former gymnasts accused him of sexual abuse. In 2007, USAG began requiring background checks for coaches. Yet USAG leaders also routinely dismissed warnings about coaches. For example, USAG received complaints about coach Mark Schiefelbein long before he was convicted in 2003 of molesting a 10-year-old girl. Similarly, USAG received complaints about coach James Bell at least five years before he
6976-518: The only score over 15 on balance beam in the finals. She and Raisman became the second pair of American gymnasts to win gold and silver in the individual all-around, after Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson in 2008 . In the vault final, she scored 15.900 for her Amânar and 16.033 for her Cheng to win her second individual gold medal with an average score of 15.966, more than 0.7 points ahead of second-place finisher Maria Paseka of Russia and third-place finisher Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland . In
7085-423: The organization had not apologized for its role in the scandal. In March 2017, USAG president Steve Penny resigned amid accusations of negligence and calls for his dismissal. Two-time Olympian Aly Raisman said the severance package given to Penny, reportedly $ 1 million, could have been used to help the affected athletes. In June 2017, an investigator hired by USAG to review its policies and practices issued
7194-499: The organization". It also found that top executives at USAG had routinely dismissed sexual abuse allegations against coaches and failed to alert authorities. Asked about Nassar in February 2017, USAG said that its executives first learned of an athlete's concern about him in June 2015. They said they conducted an internal investigation, and the following month fired Nassar and reported him to
7303-505: The police that they had received credible allegations of sexual assault by Marvin Sharp, who became a USAG coach in 2010. Sharp was charged in 2015 with three counts of child molestation and four counts of sexual misconduct with a minor; he died by suicide in prison. USAG received at least four complaints against Georgia coach William McCabe, but did not report the allegations to the police. One gym owner had warned that McCabe "should be locked in
7412-412: The preliminary round despite a major error on the uneven bars, qualifying in first place to the all-around, vault, beam, and floor finals, in addition to contributing to the U.S. team's first-place qualification into the team final. During the team final, Biles led the United States to its second consecutive world team championship, which they won over the second-place Chinese team by nearly seven points. In
7521-733: The pretense of providing medical treatment, including former USAG national team members Jessica Howard , Jamie Dantzscher , Morgan White , Jeanette Antolin , McKayla Maroney , Aly Raisman , Maggie Nichols , Gabby Douglas , Simone Biles , Jordyn Wieber , Sabrina Vega , Ashton Locklear , Kyla Ross , Madison Kocian , Amanda Jetter , Tasha Schwikert , Mattie Larson , Bailie Key , Kennedy Baker , Alyssa Baumann , and Terin Humphrey . In 2017 and 2018, Nassar pleaded guilty to federal charges of child pornography and state charges of first-degree sexual assault; he received sentences of 60 years in prison plus another 80 to 300 years. The scandal led to
7630-532: The sport. Biles competed at the 2013 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships in August, where she was crowned the national all-around champion. Biles also won silver in all four individual events. After the USA Gymnastics National Championships, Biles was named to the Senior National Team and was invited to the qualifying camp for the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Texas. She
7739-490: The start of the season due to injury, sitting out the 2014 AT&T American Cup and the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships. Her debut that year was at the U.S. Classic in Chicago. She won the all-around by a wide margin and also took first place on vault, beam (tied with Ross), and floor. At the 2014 USA Gymnastics National Championships, Biles repeated as national all-around champion after two days of competition, finishing more than four points ahead of silver medalist Ross, despite
7848-698: The suits in 2018 and 2021 for a total of nearly $ 900 million. The breadth of the abuses was first revealed by The Indianapolis Star , which reported in September 2016 that "predatory coaches were allowed to move from gym to gym, undetected by a lax system of oversight, or dangerously passed on by USA Gymnastics-certified gyms". Coaches and officials perpetrated, facilitated, or worked to conceal abuse in Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Rhode Island, Indiana, and elsewhere. FBI agents declined to investigate early allegations of abuse, then lied about it, according to
7957-470: The team title by a wide margin. Biles did not compete in the event finals. On June 4, Biles competed at the Secret U.S. Classic in two events only, the uneven bars and beam. She placed first on balance beam with a 15.650 and placed fifth on uneven bars with a 15.1. In the following weeks at the 2016 U.S. National Championships, Biles won the all-around title by a wide margin of 3.9 points over Aly Raisman . She won
8066-433: The tenth female gymnast and first American female gymnast to win a World medal on every event , and the first female gymnast since Daniela Silivaș in 1988 to win a medal on every event at a single Olympics or World Championships. Biles is the originator of the most difficult skill on women's vault, balance beam, and floor exercise and the only gymnast to attempt each skill to date. In 2022, President Joe Biden awarded her
8175-598: The terms of his plea agreement , Nassar pleaded guilty to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct charges with a minimum sentence of 25 to 40 years in prison. Three of the victims were under the age of 13 and three ranged in age from 13 to 15. More than 150 women made impact statements during Nassar's week-long sentencing hearing before the former doctor was sentenced on January 24, 2018, to state prison for 40 to 175 years. During his federal sentencing, Judge Neff had previously ordered that any state prison term run consecutive with Nassar's federal sentence. Judge Aquilina quoted
8284-407: The time of the crimes. According to those reports, Nassar committed sexual assaults during medical examinations and purported treatments. The molestations ranged from his inserting a finger into the gymnasts' vaginas and anuses to fondling their breasts and genitalia. These were criminal acts regardless of consent since the victims were minors. Nassar initially denied the charges, claiming that he
8393-490: The top gymnast in four of the five individual finals: the all-around with a score of 62.416, vault with an average score of 16.050, balance beam with a score of 15.633, and floor exercise with a score of 15.733. On August 9, Biles won her first Olympic gold medal in the gymnastics team event. The only gymnast for Team USA to compete in all four events in the final, she contributed an all-around score of 61.833 (15.933 on vault, 14.800 on bars, 15.300 on beam, and 15.800 on floor) as
8502-549: The two oldest children. Simone holds Belizean citizenship through her adoptive mother and considers Belize to be her second home. Biles and her family are Catholic . Biles attended Benfer Elementary School in Harris County , Texas. In 2012, Biles switched from public school to home schooling , allowing her to increase her training from about 20 to 32 hours a week. She earned her high-school diploma in mid-2015. Biles verbally committed to UCLA on August 4, 2014, and signed
8611-529: The vault competition, taking her second consecutive silver medal in that event. She won the gold in the balance beam final ahead of China's Bai Yawen and the gold in the floor exercise final, again, ahead of Iordache. This brought her total of World Championship gold medals to six, the most ever by an American gymnast, surpassing Miller's five. Biles competed at the 2015 AT&T American Cup at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas , on March 7. She placed first with
8720-504: The vault, balance beam, and floor titles, and tied for second in the all-around, behind Kyla Ross, after a fall on the uneven bars. In July, Biles competed at the 2013 U.S. Classic. She performed poorly, falling several times, and did not compete vault after twisting her ankle on the floor exercise. In the aftermath of this poor performance, Biles consulted a sports psychologist whom she credits with helping her anxiety and confidence issues and allowing her to begin her streak of dominance in
8829-428: The vault, behind defending world champion and Olympic silver medalist McKayla Maroney and ahead of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Hong Un Jong of North Korea; bronze on the balance beam, behind Mustafina and Ross; and gold on the floor exercise, ahead of Italy's Vanessa Ferrari and Romania's Larisa Iordache . She finished fourth in the uneven bars final, behind China's Huang Huidan , Ross, and Mustafina. Biles missed
8938-460: The way and I want to pass on that inspiration to readers." The book reached number one on The New York Times best sellers Young Adult list the week of January 8, 2017 and was turned into a Lifetime biopic. Biles competed on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars , attempting to replicate her Rio teammate Laurie Hernandez 's win in season 23 . Paired with professional dancer Sasha Farber , she
9047-495: The ways he groomed her by connecting with her on Facebook and complimenting her appearance on numerous occasions. It was also reported that it was Nichols' coach, Sarah Jantzi, who first reported Nassar to USAG on June 17, 2015, after overhearing Nichols talk to other gymnasts, later revealed to be Raisman and Alyssa Baumann , about Nassar's behavior. Simone Biles came forward shortly after with firsthand accounts of how she too had been sexually abused by Nassar. Jordyn Wieber made
9156-408: The women's individual all-around and won the competition with a score of 60.216, almost a point ahead of silver medalist Ross, and almost a point and a half better than the bronze medalist, 2010 world all-around champion Aliya Mustafina . At the age of 16, Biles became the seventh American woman and the first African American to win the world all-around title. In the event finals, she won silver on
9265-459: The years between 1996 and 2006, USAG received sexual abuse complaints filed against 54 coaches. The organization banned 37 of them from gymnastics, but allowed others—including some convicted of crimes—to continue coaching. One USAG regional chair spoke to the organization's president, arguing that a convicted sex offender should be allowed to keep his membership. In a 2015 deposition in a lawsuit against USAG, USAG President Steve Penny said, "To
9374-400: Was "inconsequential, rather than material" to the criminal investigation of whether a MSU employee was complicit or not in allowing Nassar to prey on young athletes. Her case was dismissed in November 2022, legally clearing her after she served 90 days in jail and eight months of probation. On February 25, 2021, John Geddert , the head coach of the 2012 US Women's Olympic Gymnastics Team ,
9483-448: Was 13 years old and continuing until she retired from the sport in 2016. Maroney filed a lawsuit against Nassar, MSU, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), and USAG. The lawsuit accused USAG of covering up the sexual abuse by paying Maroney a $ 1.25-million settlement that required her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. During a 60 Minutes interview, Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman also accused Nassar of sexually abusing her when she
9592-461: Was 15 years old. Gabby Douglas subsequently drew criticism from her Olympic teammate Simone Biles and others for sending a tweet ("...dressing in a provocative/sexual way incites the wrong crowd...") that they interpreted as criticizing Raisman and of " victim-shaming ". Douglas later apologized for the tweet and said she was also a victim of Nassar's abuse. Former national team member Maggie Nichols accused Nassar of abusing her and documented
9701-533: Was accused of doping to enhance performance by the Russian media following the Russian cyber espionage group Fancy Bear 's hack into the World Anti-Doping Agency . Biles then disclosed on Twitter that she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and was permitted to take medication for it, having applied for and received a therapeutic use exemption . She was applauded for opening up about ADHD. Biles
9810-538: Was added back to the National Team on March 1 after the Athlete Selection Committee viewed recent videos of her performances. Her first competition of the year was the U.S. Classic in July, where she won the all-around title ahead of Riley McCusker by 1.200 points. She also won the gold medal on floor and balance beam and recorded the highest single vault score. Her all-around score of 58.700 became
9919-528: Was arrested on March 26, 2018, some weeks after MSU had announced they were taking steps to fire him due to his "personal conduct". On June 10, 2019, he was convicted in Michigan state court of two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty and one felony count of misconduct in office. He was acquitted of a charge of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree. On August 7, 2019, Judge Joyce Draganchuk sentenced Strampel to one year in jail. On December 5, 2019, he permanently surrendered his license to practice as
10028-477: Was charged with multiple felonies including 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor, one count of first-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree sexual assault, racketeering, and lying to a police officer. Geddert died by suicide shortly after his charges were announced. As the Indianapolis Star was preparing to publish its 2016 investigation, the organization issued a statement: "Nothing
10137-479: Was favored to win but was eliminated on May 15, 2017, one week before the finals, finishing in fourth place. In August, during the 2017 P&G National Championships , Biles said that she had returned to the gym to start conditioning. Her longtime coach, Aimee Boorman, had moved to Florida with her family; in October Biles hired coach Laurent Landi , who had coached her Olympic teammate Madison Kocian . Biles
10246-497: Was found guilty on two counts of lying to the police and faced up to four years in prison. Her sentencing was set for April 18, 2020, then rescheduled to July 15, then once again delayed by a water main break near the courthouse. On August 4, Klages was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 18 months of probation. On December 21, 2021, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned Klages' conviction after determining that her false statement
10355-449: Was in a Tide commercial with gymnasts Dominique Dawes and Nadia Comăneci called "The Evolution of Power" before the 2016 Rio Games . On August 7, Biles competed in the Women's Qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Along with helping her team qualify in first place to the final with a score of 185.238 (9.959 points ahead of the second-place team, China) she individually qualified as
10464-409: Was jailed in 2003 for molesting three young gymnasts. In a 2013 lawsuit, USAG officials admitted under oath that allegations of sexual abuse were routinely dismissed as hearsay unless they came directly from a victim or victim's parent. Even when USAG leaders believed the accusers, they sometimes allowed coaches to continue coaching for years. For example, USAG leaders waited four years before telling
10573-565: Was named to the U.S. Junior National Team by a committee headed by Márta Károlyi , the National Team Coordinator (2001–2016). Biles' senior international debut was in March at the 2013 American Cup , a FIG World Cup event. She and Katelyn Ohashi were named as replacements for Elizabeth Price and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross , both of whom withdrew from the competition because of injuries. Biles led for two rotations but finished second behind her teammate, Ohashi, after
10682-480: Was named to the team to compete at the 2018 World Championships alongside McCusker, Hurd, Grace McCallum , Eaker, and alternate Ragan Smith . In late October, at the 2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Biles went to an emergency room the night before the qualifying round because of stomach pains that turned out to be a kidney stone . After confirming that it was not appendicitis , she checked herself out of
10791-476: Was performing legitimate medical procedures. In February 2017, three former gymnasts— Jeanette Antolin , Jessica Howard , and Jamie Dantzscher —gave an interview with 60 Minutes in which they accused Nassar of sexually abusing them. The gymnasts also alleged that the "emotionally abusive environment" at the national team training camps run by Béla and Márta Károlyi at the Karolyi Ranch near Huntsville, Texas , gave Nassar an opportunity to take advantage of
10900-425: Was rejected on December 21, 2021, by the Michigan Court of Appeals in a scathing ruling, which described the investigation into Simon's alleged crimes as a "sham". In August 2018, Kathie Klages, a former MSU gymnastics coach, was charged with one felony count and one misdemeanor count of lying to the police about her early knowledge of sexual abuse allegations against Nassar. Her trial began in February 2020. She
11009-585: Was reported in January 2018 that one of Nassar's victims filed a police report to the Meridian Township Police Department in 2004 but the police decided to not press charges against Nassar because of a PowerPoint presentation he gave to them that claimed that he was doing legitimate medical treatment. Nassar's boss at MSU was William Strampel, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine . Strampel
11118-457: Was reported that Nassar pleaded guilty to counts of sexual assault in Ingham County (which contains most of East Lansing , the home city for Michigan State) and Eaton County in Michigan. At the time, he faced a total of 22 charges, 15 in Ingham County and 7 in Eaton County. Among the allegations was that under the guise of providing legitimate treatment, he molested 7 girls at his home and at
11227-500: Was selected for the World Championships team. In October, Biles competed at the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium . She qualified first in the all-around, second to the vault final, sixth to the uneven bars final, fifth to the balance beam final, and first to the floor final, making her the first American gymnast to qualify to the all-around and all four event finals since Shannon Miller in 1991 . Biles competed cleanly during
11336-473: Was selected to represent the United States at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Biles once again qualified in first place in the all-around, vault, beam, and floor finals. Her uneven bars score would have qualified her in eighth place in that final as well, but she was excluded, as per the rules, after teammates Kocian and Douglas qualified ahead of her. In team finals, she helped
11445-457: Was sexually abused during the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal . In February 2017, three former gymnasts, Jamie Dantzscher , Jeanette Antolin and Howard, gave an interview with 60 Minutes in which they accused Larry Nassar of sexually abusing them. The gymnasts also alleged that the "emotionally abusive environment" at the national team training camps run by Béla and Márta Károlyi at
11554-610: Was the USA Gymnastics Rhythmic Athlete of the Year three times. Howard secured her spot for the Olympics when she was named by the FIG to compete in the 2000 Olympic Games, but had her Olympic berth taken at the last minute due to continental rules that were newly implemented for the 2000 Olympics. She was coached by Efrossina Anguelova. Howard was inducted in the US Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2015. During her career she
11663-541: Was the name sponsor of the National Championships for five seasons, AT&T had sponsored the American Cup since 2011, and Kellogg's sponsored a series of nationwide tours. Marketing revenues that year had accounted for about 35 percent of USAG annual revenues, or about $ 9.4 million. In January 2018, USAG cut ties with several coaches and gyms that had employed Nassar. One was John Geddert , team coach of
11772-489: Was tied with the Produnova for the most difficult women's vault ever competed. The US also qualified for the team final in first place. During the team final, Biles competed on all four events, recording the highest score of any competitor on vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise. The U.S. team won the gold medal with a score of 171.629, 8.766 points ahead of second-place Russia, beating previous margin of victory records set in
11881-463: Was unable to care for Simone or her other children. All four went in and out of foster care . In 2000, Biles' maternal grandfather, Ron Biles, and his second wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles, began caring temporarily for Shanon's children in the north Houston suburb of Spring, Texas , after learning his grandchildren were in foster care. In 2003, the couple formally adopted Simone and her younger sister Adria. Ron's sister, Shanon's aunt Harriet, adopted
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