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Simone Biles wants everyone to know that she has won 11 Olympic medals, seven of which have been gold.
After being greeted with a neon sign reading “11-time gold medalist” while at a club over Labor Day weekend, the Olympic gymnast took to her Instagram Story to make an important correction.
Biles shared a photo of the “sweet” sign and wrote: “*7-time gold medalist. *11-time Olympic medalist.”
During her evening out enjoying the last moments of summer, the world champion was treated to a neon sign, sparklers and bottle service. Though the message didn’t indicate how many gold medals she had won, Biles was touched by the gesture. “They were close. Still, they were so sweet,” she wrote on her Instagram Story.
Since her spectacular comeback at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she took home three gold medals and one silver, Biles has made sure to celebrate her accomplishments and treat herself. While spending time in the City of Lights ahead of the closing ceremony on Aug. 11, Biles went shopping at Hermès.
On August 9, the competitor, often regarded as “the greatest athlete of all time,” shared a sneak peek of her purchases on Instagram. She took to Instagram to snap a photo of the wall of Hermès Birkin bags and an image of the orange box containing her bag, which could cost anywhere from $17,000 to six figures.
Biles returned from Paris with her new Birkin and a new title: “The most decorated American Olympic gymnast.” The gold medalist surpassed Shannon Miller in her medal tally after this year’s Summer Olympics, winning gold in the women’s team all-around final, gold in the vault final, gold in the women’s individual all-around final and silver in the floor final.
During the 2021 Tokyo Games, Biles was forced to withdraw from competition due to an unfortunate case of the “Twisties,” a common mental condition among gymnasts when their mind-body connection goes haywire.
The U.S. team captain reflected on her decision to withdraw from the Tokyo competition in her new Netflix documentary series, Simone Biles: Crescentdirected by Katie Walsh. “I knew from that moment. It felt like a silence. I felt like I was in a prison in my own brain and body,” explained the athlete, referring to the jump she performed incorrectly in Tokyo.
“After Tokyo, I had no confidence in myself whatsoever,” she added, noting that many labelled her a “quitter” in the months that followed.
Ahead of this year's games, Biles prioritized her mental health by limiting her use of social media.
Speaking to Hoda Kotb ahead of the 2024 Olympics, she revealed her plan to delete X, formerly known as Twitter, from her phone.
