Simone Biles won her sixth individual all-around title at the world championships on Friday, becoming the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport. The 26-year-old, who spent two years away from competing, returned to competition less than three months ago.
Biles hadn’t participated in the world championships since 2019, although she had competed in domestic events since then. In 2022, she took the entire year off for the first time since ’17.
In her career, Biles has now won 21 world championship gold medals, and 27 total medals, along with her four Olympic gold medals and seven total Olympic medals. With 34 total medals across the two events, she is officially the most decorated gymnast, either male or female, passing former Belarusian gymnast Vitaly Scherbo for the honor.
34 medals, 1 GOAT 🐐
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) October 6, 2023
With her win in today's all-around competition, @Simone_Biles now stands alone as the most decorated gymnast in history! pic.twitter.com/VWlBtdztvT
Once the world championships end, Biles can begin preparing to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which would be her third Olympic games.
“Right now I would say that’s the path that I would love to go,” she said last month.
Until Olympic qualifiers next year, Biles still has more competitive events in the world championships, with four more events this weekend to potentially pad her record.
