- Simone Biles and Suni Lee are some gymnasts who have dealt with various tragedies in their lives.
- One of the athletes was sent into foster care, while another faced abuse at the hands of someone she trusted.
- Some of these gymnasts have retired, but others went on to turn their trials into triumphs.
Athletes, gymnasts in particular, get seen as shining stars with incredible abilities. But like everyone else, they experience tragedies in their lives. From growing up in foster care to losing loved ones, they’ve seen it all. Here’s a breakdown of six female athletes who have faced immense challenges in their lives.
Simone Biles
Simone Biles found fame in 2013 at age 16 when she won the all-around title in gymnastics and two gold medals at the Antwerp Championship. Her introduction to the world was with a double layout move with a half-twist.
Simone Biles trains at Bannon’s Gymnastix on August 22, 2013, in Houston | Source: Getty Images
She would have found fame sooner in 2012 if she wasn’t too young to qualify for the London Olympics. In 2014, Simone won four gold medals at the World Championships and the same amount the following year.
Simone Biles celebrates her gold win during the medal ceremony after Women’s Balance Beam Final at the 45th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships on October 12, 2014, in Nanning, China | Source: Getty Images
Her first Olympic games were in Rio in 2016. There she won gold in vault, all-around, team, and floor exercises. She also went home with a bronze medal on the balance beam. In 2024, she’s taking part in the Paris Olympics as part of Team US.
While her life seems quite smooth, things haven’t always been easy for the Columbus, Ohio-born star. In 2021, the athlete, who started her gymnastics journey at age six, opened up about her difficult past in an interview.
Simone Biles performing her floor routine during the women’s individual all-around final at the world gymnastics championships in Stuttgart, Germany, on October 10, 2019 | Source: Getty Images
Growing up in Foster Care
Born on March 14, 1997, Simone revealed that growing up, her parents wanted her and her siblings to be their own people. They wanted them to take accountability and control of what they did. The star felt her parents’ teachings were why she and her siblings became successful in what they do.
They learned that even when one is at the top, you keep going and pushing boundaries. The artistic gymnast said her parents’ love and compassion for her and her siblings is something she hopes to have with her children one day.
Simone Biles, with her parents, Ron and Nellie Biles, as they wait for her ceremonial first pitch at a game on July 4, 2016, in Houston | Source: Getty Images
The man she calls her father, Ron Sr., said she was biologically his granddaughter. Simone’s birth mother is Ron Sr.’s daughter. The star said she didn’t remember much about being in foster care but knew they got taken from her mother.
At the time it happened, she thought they were going to return home but that wasn’t the case. She and her siblings, including Adria, Tevin, and Ashley, were lucky to be placed together in foster care. Adria recalled how close, scared, and confused they were when they were placed there.
The four clung to each other, and Simone would run to Tevin’s room to spend the night with him because she worried he’d disappear in the morning. The star’s instinct was to care for and look after Adria because she was the youngest sibling.
Simone’s grandmother, Nellie, recalled how nurturing and motherly the athlete was to Adria. The duo had a close bond that they still maintain today. Ironically, growing up, Adria thought her sister was bossy but now knows Simone was just trying to protect her.
Simone Biles’ sister, Adria, and their grandmother, Nellie, at the Artistic Gymnastics during the Rio Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro on August 14, 2016 | Source: Getty Images
The gymnast’s mother was unstable for them because she used illegal substances and drank a lot. The star and her siblings grew up focused on food because it was a scarcity. And while the gymnast recalled being “so hungry,” she also remembers seeing a street cat that would often come by to get fed.
She’d wonder where her food was, and that memory might be why she doesn’t like cats even today. Her mother always ensured the cat ate but not her children. Eventually, a social worker intervened in Simone and her siblings’ lives because neighbors raised concerns.
Simone Biles with her sister Adria while they train at Bannon’s Gymnastix on August 22, 2013, in Houston | Source: Getty Images
Adria and Simone were adopted by their grandparents, who became their mother and father, and they relocated to Texas. Their two older siblings, Tevin and Ashley, were adopted by their father’s sister, Aunt Harriet, and stayed in Ohio.
When the athlete and her sister were added to Nellie’s household, they instantly became a family of six. Nellie’s son, Ron Jr., noted how his parents had spent 18 years raising him and his brother before they had to start all over with Simone and her sister.
Simone Biles gets a kiss from her mother Nellie Biles as she trains at Bannon’s Gymnastix on August 22, 2013, in Houston | Source: Getty Images
The gymnast confessed that at some point she had a cage around her heart and a part of herself that she compartmentalized to keep herself safe. For her part, Nellie admitted that she had barriers when the two children came because they weren’t biologically hers.
Still, she did everything to nurture and mother them but “emotionally you still have to be there 100%, and I was not.” The loving parent prayed to find a bond between her and the two adopted children and one day realized she’d do anything for them.
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships on June 2, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas | Source: Getty Images
When Simone was competing professionally in gymnastics, tragedy struck again. In August 2021, while at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and after winning a bronze medal on the balance beam, the star revealed that her aunt had died “unexpectedly.”
The death occurred while she was in Japan, with the gymnast confessing that it wasn’t something she expected to happen while she was at the Olympic Games.
In light of the loss, she urged people to be a “little bit more mindful” of what they say online, “because you have no idea what these athletes are going through as well as (in) their sports.” The next athlete we’ll look at discovered she had a rare disease.
