Decorated Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles Named SI’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has been named Sports Illustrated's 2024 Sportsperson of the Year.

Dec 26, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; United States gymnast Simone Biles poses for a photo on the sidelines before the game between the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field. / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

2024 was a year of redemption for decorated gymnast Simone Biles.

She made a triumphant return to the mat at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris after battling twisties at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo that took place in 2021.

It led to her withdrawing from each event as the most dominant gymnast the sport has ever seen, battling gymnastics’ version of vertigo.

In 2021, she lost her bearings during a vault routine during the team final. Unable to recover, she had to pull out of the subsequent events, leaving what would have been a sour taste in her mouth as the potential end of her Olympic career.

Determined for that to not be the last chapter, she worked tirelessly to get back into form and prepare for the Olympics in Paris.

After a two-year retirement from the sport, the tenor around her appearances changed. People were tuning in at one point to see what incredible feat she would accomplish next on the mat.

Now, they were watching just to see if she could compete at any level any longer.

A lot of emotions were overflowing in Paris, some nervousness and anxiousness to see how Biles would respond.

All attention was on her, as everyone watching even practice routines stopped what they were doing to see her routine.

Biles crushed her vault routine and a collective sigh was let out by her teammates and coaches.

Team USA would qualify in first place for the team event. She was dominant in the all-around, overcoming an aggravated calf injury on top of the twisties shortcomings she was battling.

Like all of the greats before her who faced some adversity, Biles stepped up when she needed to the most, cementing her status as the greatest of all time.

Simone Biles is SI’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year ⭐ https://t.co/Fm4hAkpY45 pic.twitter.com/JYyp8OKG6V

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 2, 2025

Three more gold medals were added to her already impressive resume. But, on top of her athletic achievements, it has been her dedication to the sport and her willingness to talk about what are sometimes sensitive subjects that she was chosen as Sports Illustrated’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year.

Overcoming failure when an athlete has experienced so little of it during their career is never an easy thing to do. Biles had to reflect on what happened and figure out a way to overcome it.

She did that with flying colors, dominating the Paris Games as everyone has become accustomed to seeing.

Paving the way for younger generations in gymnastics is something that she is incredibly proud of and will continue doing.

An inspiring message from the GOAT 🐐 @Simone_Biles pic.twitter.com/ll0idWATFB

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 2, 2025

“I don’t think the reality has set in of what I’ve exactly done in the sport,” she says, via Stephanie Apstein of SI. “I can see it, and I hear it from people, and I see a glimpse of it, but the full magnitude I don’t think I’ve realized just yet. I don’t think I’ll realize ’til maybe I retire and look back in a couple years like, Damn, she was good. Because I can see that, but I do it every day. So for me, it’s normal.”

What does the future hold for the talented gymnast?

She is now focused on being a football wife, as her husband Jonathan Owens is a safety for the Chicago Bears.

Biles doesn’t sound like someone who is going to be competing in 2028 at the Summer Games in Los Angeles, but things could change in the future.

If Paris was the last time she was on the mat on a national stage, it was quite a way for her to go out; on her own terms, proving to herself she had still got it.