Record breaker. What makes Simone Biles unique? Only the most beautiful gymnasts! a lot of photos Sandra Izbasha. Romania

Having won gold medals at the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo 1984 and Calgary 1988 in relay races, he commented on the upcoming elections of the President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU).

When asked whose candidacy - Swede Olle A or Latvian Baiba Broka - is preferable for Russia, he replied that he would prefer the second option.

“Of course, Brock. And not because everyone says that Baiba is supposedly more tolerant of doping scandals. No. What does this have to do with it?

Firstly, as such, doping scandals are artificially promoted. We are against this, we have always been for objectivity: if an athlete is guilty, he must be punished, but there can be no collective responsibility here.

We are already tired of talking about this - soon there will be a callus on the tongue. When you look at the statistics on doping cases, you see that Russia is not at the top of this list. It is headed by the most important critics: these are Americans, Italians, etc. But for some reason they criticize and try to discredit our country,” Sportbox quotes Vasiliev.

Also, the renowned athlete, who is the only biathlete in the world to win Olympic gold in both classic and speed skating, called for the abolition of therapeutic exemptions (TUE) for the use of prohibited drugs that athletes can receive for medical reasons.

“It is definitely necessary to eliminate such a concept as “therapeutic indications.” Certificates are distributed to athletes according to them, which allows the use of prohibited drugs and the selection of some athletes over others. We know very well that all this is deceit. Even lies

- said Vasiliev. — It’s interesting that an athlete who suffers from asthma becomes a multiple Olympic champion. But we know that it is difficult for an asthmatic to even climb stairs without stopping, because he is suffocating. And then they win championship titles. How much nonsense can you say?

The same American gymnast Simone Biles looks not like a woman, but, excuse me, like a man. And at the same time, not every man can be so pumped up.

As it turned out, she is allowed to use so many drugs! But I have a question: why didn’t she win all the gold medals at the Olympics? How can you engage in such hypocrisy?”

After this, Vasiliev explained why he considers Brock the best candidate for the post of IBU President. According to the Olympian, the Latvian, unlike her competitor, will pursue a policy of objective attitude towards all countries.

“Brock is for equal conditions for everyone. If Russian athletes apply for therapeutic certificates, they will always be refused. This is already the default. But Westerners are allowed,” Vasiliev said.

— Dalin is a zealous critic. Having no arguments, he always criticizes Russia. Of course, we will be against him. Because there is a one-sided approach. And we are for equal conditions for everyone.”

Recall that American Biles won four gold and one bronze medal in artistic gymnastics at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after which she took a two-year break from her career and returned to competition only in 2018.

The return turned out to be triumphant: at the US Championships, Biles won all five possible gold medals.

At the same time, in 2016 it became known that the athlete suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for which she was prescribed psychostimulants. This information caused an extremely mixed reaction in the sports world. Many believed that in this way the American actually legally used doping to improve her athletic performance.

At the same time, the president of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), Vladimir Drachev, said that his organization does not officially support any of the candidates and does not lobby for Brock’s candidacy.

“The only thing is, we talked to her on the phone once. I called just to get to know each other since we were both recently elected presidents of our respective federations. I don’t know the representative of Sweden at all yet,” Sport-Express quotes.

The election of a new IBU president to replace the Norwegian who has headed the organization for many years, who is considered a pro-Russian official, will be held on September 7 at the Union Congress in Porec, Croatia.

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Artistic gymnast Simone Biles is an Olympic champion and has become a world champion many times. She performs the most difficult, often dangerous elements, and leaves her competitors far behind.

Childhood

Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997 in Ohio, in the small town of Columbus, USA. She has two citizenships - American and Belize (the homeland of the girl’s mother). The girl grew up in a large family. Besides her there were seven more children. Mom, an alcoholic and drug addicted woman, could not fully take care of her family and soon all the children ended up in a shelter.

Simone, along with one sister Adria, was taken under the care of her grandparents. There is information that grandparents adopted their granddaughters. And the girls call them their parents. Adria, like Simone, also does gymnastics.

The girl grabbed onto sports like a straw to save herself from vegetating in her family. Since the age of 6, the girl has been involved in gymnastics. And if it weren’t for sports, it’s not known how little Simone’s life would have turned out.

On the way to success

Aimee Boorman, Simone's first and only coach, proudly says that it literally takes Biles a few days to learn a new technique. While for other athletes this may take more than one year.

But victories for the girl and her patient coach were not easy and did not come immediately. At the beginning of her sports career, Simone and her coach struggled with the girl’s nerves. Failures, removal from competitions - this was the first result of this struggle. Grandfather and grandmother found a special psychologist for their granddaughter, who helped the girl achieve her first successes. Simone Biles learned to control her emotional state in gymnastics. Thanks to this, the girl receives medals one after another. And she achieves victory not only in gymnastics, but also in mental balance.

Thanks to the hacker group Fancy Bear, the public learned that the athlete passed a test for the psychostimulant Methylphenidate. And, of course, there was a positive result. But despite all this, no anti-doping rules were violated. According to Simone's medical history, she has permission to take this drug. The athlete is learning to cope with her nerves; she takes these medications as prescribed by doctors. Although in big sports, medical approval is often a trick to justify doping.

Olympic champion

This little 20-year-old girl, 145 cm tall and weighing 47 kg, is the first black American woman in the history of sports to become the world champion in gymnastics in the absolute championship (1994). Before her, this title was held by Shanon Miller (from 1993 to 1994). In 2013, she made her debut in the adult category and she became the champion in the absolute championship. In the following 2014 and 2015, it again confirms its championship.

In 2016, Simone Biles became an Olympic champion and ten-time world champion. She achieves unprecedented heights in five events: individual all-around competition, team competition, floor exercise, vault and balance beam. That same year, Biles won five medals at the Rio Olympics. Five out of six. After such a triumph, she was solemnly entrusted with carrying the flag at the closing ceremony of the games.

Simone Blythe has been compared to Nadia Comaneci, a 14-year-old gymnast from Romania. This athlete was the first to receive ten points. At that time, this was the highest score according to the system that was then used in artistic gymnastics. Time magazine in August 1976 placed Nadia's photograph on its first cover. And forty years later, the same magazine publishes an issue with Simone Biles. And also on the first one.

Biles is a short girl who endlessly surprises everyone with her capabilities. For example: a combination of elements - two and a half turns in the air. It was first performed by Simone in 2013. Before this, none of the gymnasts risked doing this. The jump was named after Biles, in her honor. According to the coach, the girl has some special sense of space and time that allows her to do incredible things. Biles' competitors simply don't have a chance. If only because Simone starts performing combinations with a very short run-up. Because of this, she has more time and space to perform additional elements. Simone Biles' competitors do not take such risks in their performances.

When Simone Biles first appeared in competition, no one took her seriously. But she immediately showed fighting qualities and won, won, won... Now even her ill-wishers respect her. After all, the girl managed to prove to everyone that it’s not a matter of height at all. And skin color has nothing to do with it either. The main thing is talent and work. Simone Biles considers it a great honor to compete for the United States and hopes to become the pride of the United States.

Simona happily spends her free time with her pets - dogs. She also enjoys swimming. And the smile never leaves her face.

Record breaker. What makes Simone Biles unique?

Simone Biles USA Today

The 19-year-old American already has 4 Olympic golds and 1 bronze won at the same Games - like the legendary Nadia Comaneci

The Olympic record of the legendary Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci - 4 gold medals at one Olympics and 1 bronze medal - was easily conquered by 19-year-old American Simone Biles. She already has three awards of the highest standard - in the all-around, team competition and vault.

The next record that Biles is preparing to break is that of the Soviet prima Larisa Latynina, who managed to reap a harvest of 4 gold medals. And this despite the fact that the American has not yet performed in her strongest event - floor exercise.

“Do I think that I am the best of all time? Some may think so, but opinions vary depending on the person. I try not to think about it, I just do artistic gymnastics. Most of all, I am happy with my performance on the balance beam because that it’s just great to perform well on this apparatus. I’m not the new Usain Bolt and not the new Michael Phelps, I’m the first Simone Biles,” the athlete shared her impressions after yesterday’s victory.

Difficult childhood of the champion

Simone Biles was born on March 14, 1997 in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to Simone, the family had three children, and the mother suffered from alcoholism and drug addiction. While still pregnant, Shannon Biles was arrested 5 times, and then caught stealing from stores several times. She pleaded guilty to three offenses and was sentenced to 120 days in jail and ordered to stay away from the affected stores.

But on March 6, 2000, on the eve of Simone's third birthday, Shannon was arrested again for stealing baby formula and sentenced to 12 days in prison. A few months later, she was arrested again for theft and sentenced to 180 days in prison. In just 20 years, she was arrested 20 times.

Subsequently, Simone and her sister Adria (who is also a gymnast) were adopted by their grandparents Ron and Nellie. Simone still calls her grandmother mom. "She encourages me and never lets me be upset about anything for too long," says Simone.

Biles was home-schooled and began doing gymnastics at the age of six; at the age of eight she began training under the guidance of Aimee Boorman. This specialist still manages the athlete’s training and, according to Simone, is a second mother to her.

Simone Biles and Aimee Boorman From open sources

"I'm very lucky to have a coach who stays with me all this time. Every year our connection becomes stronger and we understand each other better. Every time I walk into the gym, she knows what I'm in the mood for I need to practice how I feel. It’s really nice to have someone who can read me like that,” admits the athlete.

Unique achievements

At the same age, she began competing, and by 2011, she had firmly established herself in the elite junior division, winning vault and beam and placing third in the all-around at the American Classic.

Simone's career developed rapidly and already in 2013 she achieved a historic result, becoming the first African-American world champion in all-around. As she explained to The Hollywood Reporter, the impressive win will likely serve as an example for other young gymnasts: "I think it inspires a lot of little girls to go to the gym and train," she said.

In 2015, Simone became the first gymnast to win three consecutive all-around golds, giving her a record 10 gold medals in international competition. She is now the most decorated US gymnast in world championship history.

What is her strength?

Simone Biles at the Rio Olympics From open sources

Many experts attribute Biles' success to the structure of her muscle fibers and the amazing space-time orientation that keeps her aloft. Her quads and calves have a very high percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers. They have the greatest length and allow for fast and intense movements. Compared to the same Nadia Comaneci, Simone is a real titanium, her weight is 47 kg with a height of 145 cm, while the legendary Romanian was much taller and 2 kg lighter. Experts note that the current generation of gymnasts has become stronger and more muscular.

What the eminent rivals failed to do, namely push Biles off the podium, was successfully accomplished by the insect. At the 2014 World Championships, after the award ceremony, a bee flew into the hall, after which Simone jumped off the “golden” step and ran away in horror.

In the world of artistic gymnastics, a scandal about sexual abuse against young athletes has flared up with renewed vigor. Four-time Olympic champion of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, American Biles, reported harassment from former US national team doctor Larry Nassar.

The famous gymnast decided to write about her tragedy on the social network Twitter.

“Many of you know me as a happy, cheerful and energetic girl. But lately I've been feeling overwhelmed, and the more I tried to drown out my inner voice, the louder it became. I'm no longer afraid to tell my story.

“I am also one of the many gymnasts who were sexually abused by Larry Nassar,” the 20-year-old athlete admitted.

Biles wrote that she previously had many reasons to hide what happened, but now she understands that this whole story was not her fault.

“For a very long time I wondered: “Was I too naive? Was I myself to blame for this? Now I know - no, I will not and should not be held responsible for what Nassar, USAG and others are guilty of,” the athlete firmly stated.

In her address, Biles said that

her “heart breaks” every time she realizes that in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics she will have to visit the very sports center where she was abused.

The doctor’s harassment had a detrimental effect on the girl’s overall psychological state and self-esteem, however, after hearing many similar stories from friends and other victims of violence, Biles, according to her, realized that what happened did not define her essence:

“I'm much better than that. I am unique, smart, talented, motivated and passionate about my work. I promise you all that I will never give up. I love this sport too much and have never shied away from hard work.

I will not allow one person and those who supported him to steal my love and joy.”

In conclusion, the gymnast called for an understanding of how the doctor’s indecent behavior towards the athletes of the US team could go unnoticed for many years, and to take all measures to ensure that this does not happen again.

Biles attached the hashtag #Metoo (“Me too”) to a voluminous post on her Twitter, thereby joining the movement against sexual violence, which arose in October 2017 after a scandalous publication was published about the harassment of a famous producer.

Biles is far from Nassar's only victim. Compared to other girls who suffered from the doctor’s excessive attention, Simone took a long pause before her confession. The illegal actions of a physician first became known in the summer of 2016, when Indianapolis Star journalists raised this issue. During their investigation, media personnel concluded that

The specialist, who has worked for the US national team since 1986, has been pestering his players under the guise of a thorough examination for injuries over the past 20 years of his activity.

In addition, from 1996 to 2015, Nassar worked as a sports doctor at the University of Michigan, where the national Stars and Stripes team trained.

In November 2016, the doctor was arrested and charged with seducing three underage athletes. Soon, 18 women sued the doctor, who also claimed that Nassar molested them at a very young age.

During a search of the defendant's home, police found 37 thousand files of child pornography.

For possession of these materials, the doctor was sentenced to 60 years in prison.

Meanwhile, the number of accusations against the doctor continues to grow. According to media reports, about 130 women have already said that they suffered from Nassar’s actions. Given that the specialist worked as a physical therapist for the US team at four Olympic Games, he had the opportunity to regularly contact a large number of young athletes.

Before Biles' confession, the loudest accusation against Nassar and the entire USA Gymnastics Federation was the recognition of London 2012 Olympic champion McKayla Maroney.

The girl said that USAG representatives forced her to remain silent about the doctor’s advances, promising $1.25 million in return.

At that moment, the athlete was in a difficult situation due to an injury and needed money for treatment.

The victim's attorney, Stu Mollrich, said in an interview that Maroney was also "forced to agree to a clause in the above-mentioned non-disclosure agreement that included penalties of more than $100,000 if she or a party affiliated with her disclosed the harassment or the agreement."

According to the lawyer, the same “agreements” were imposed on all other girls who dared to complain about Nassar. Wherein

the doctor had been harassing Marini since she was 13 years old, leaving her alone only after her sports career ended.

“USA Gymnastics and Nassar manipulated girls into being afraid to tell the truth. I get really worried when I see these young gymnasts coming up to me and asking for my autograph because I don't want them to go through all this. I want change so that this never happens again,” Maroney said in an interview.

To date, Nassar has pleaded guilty to only seven counts of child molestation. Hearings continue in the Michigan court, at which athletes and their parents make accusatory speeches.

After the recognition of the famous gymnast Biles, who carried the US flag at the closing of the Rio Olympics, the doctor’s time behind bars may increase significantly, although in this case it will be more of an edification for others. Nassar will never leave the prison perimeter anyway due to a previous conviction for possession of child pornography.

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On Tuesday, the US women's gymnastics team won the gold medal they essentially already had before the competition began. And the way they did it was wonderful.

In their red, white and blue outfits, the U.S. gymnasts exceeded their wildest expectations, winning team gold Tuesday and beating their closest competitors by 8,209 points. The Russians were the best among the rest, winning the silver medal, while the Chinese took bronze.

The absolute dominance of the USA in women's gymnastics was simply amazing. The gap between the American women and their rivals was the largest since 1960. It also beat the difference between the first and second placed teams in each Olympic final between 1984 and 2008 (combined) by one point.

This crushing victory has no historical analogues that would not contradict common sense. Here's one though: what the American team accomplished can be roughly compared to winning the 100 meters by 0.69 seconds and Usain Bolt winning the sprint in 2012, beating the previous Olympic record by 0.12 seconds.

The brilliance of Team USA - consisting of Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman - was evident from the first jump during Tuesday's speech.

Not the slightest strain was to spoil their almost flawless performance. There was no tension. Each of the three U.S. gymnasts in each of the four events was looking to outdo her predecessor—and the U.S. led the scoreboard in every all-around event.

Victory was felt from the very beginning. After the first jump, the US team was in the lead by 0.7 points. The gap was 4.026 points after the uneven bars, 4.961 points after the balance beam, and reached a whopping 8.209 points after a majestic floor exercise combination by Biles, the last gymnast in the final all-around event.

The only thing that was exciting heading into Tuesday's final was not whether the Americans would win, but by what score they would win. After all, for the women's gymnastics team, this decade was marked by a series of victories, which is unprecedented for the country. The team has won the championship title at all major international competitions since 2011, including the 2012 Olympics, which gave us this “fierce five.”

Minutes after they won the gold medals on Tuesday, this year's Team USA revealed its primary title: the "final five." The girls say they came up with it in honor of Martha Karolyi, Team USA coordinator who is retiring after the Rio Games, although it is also fitting because only four gymnasts will compete in the team event at the 2020 Games. They came up with it while writing a text message together.

Context

No need to compete with the USA

Gymnastics vs figure skating

Women's gymnastics: The Olympics as a reality show

Gymnastics loses its queen

The list of talented American gymnasts is now so large that it has probably become more difficult to recruit an American team than to win an Olympic medal with it. This year's American alternates include two members of the 2014 international gold team and two members of the 2015 gold team who stayed home. In fact, if not for one small rule that states countries can only send one team to the Olympics, three American teams could be vying for a spot on the podium on Tuesday.

Biles, the best of them all, is poised to become the next brightest star of the Rio Olympics, along with such prominent American Olympians as swimmers Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. Biles, who has won the world all-around title three times in a row and competed in all four events on Tuesday, is the overwhelming favorite to claim another gold medal after Thursday's competition, cementing her claim as the greatest gymnast of all time. .

© AP Photo, Rebecca Blackwell American gymnast Simone Biles during a rhythmic gymnastics competition

But it's not just Bales. She could have stayed in the Olympic Village and watched herself a movie on Netflix, and the US would have been fine.

The team included two former participants from the 2012 squad - Raisman, captain, and absolute world champion Douglas. Koshan, the team's uneven bars specialist, won gold in the all-around team event at recent world championships, and 16-year-old Hernandez, who is competing in the senior competition for the first time and has at times performed better this year than Raisman and Douglas.

How did American gymnasts achieve such high results? American Gymnastics officials say this is due to a training system in which talented gymnasts train close to home, but can participate in early development programs and must participate in mandatory monthly training camps led by Karolyi to be included in the national team. Karolyi is known for her emphasis on overall physical fitness, her willingness to make difficult decisions when selecting athletes for her team, her attention to detail - right down to team members' costumes and character development and constant training to ensure that gymnasts remain focused and perform cohesively in bright colors. the rays of the competition.

“We always strive to achieve the ideal,” she said before the Olympics began. “We are working on the details to get closer to perfection.”

And it was clear at Tuesday's performances. Using a semi-centralized system also allows coaches like Aimee Boorman—who had never coached an elite gymnast before Biles—to rise through the ranks of their gymnasts and reach the Olympic level with them.

In addition, they live in different parts of the country. Biles and Koshan work out of separate gyms in Texas. Hernandez is still training in New Jersey, Douglas is at Ohio State and Raisman is in Boston.

In addition, the team is the most ethnically diverse of any US team competing in the Games. Of the five girls in her cast, two were African-American and one was Latina, which caused an enthusiastic reaction from the audience. Biles, Douglas and Hernandez follow a long tradition of minority participation in American gymnastics — suggesting the sport could attract a wide range of youth.

But this gold medal was won at a difficult time for the leadership of American gymnastics. Its representatives are trying to defend themselves against a report published by the Indianapolis Star the day before the start of the Games. The article was about the fact that the federation was considering a case of accusations of sexual violence against coaches who were subsequently convicted of indecent acts against minors.

“We're here to do our best,” said Mihai Brestyan, Raisman's coach. “Right now we are trying to protect children from all this. They are very important to us and we don’t want to distract them.”

And on Tuesday there was nothing to distract them. This was one of the most exciting teams to ever compete in women's gymnastics.