The formative years: Simone Biles
The formative years Simone Biles.
Biles was born on March 14, 1997, in Columbus, Ohio, the third of four siblings.Her birth mother, Shanon Biles, was unable to care for Simone or her other children. All four went in and out of foster care
Biles first tried gymnastics at age 6 during a day-care field trip. The instructors suggested she continue with gymnastics. Biles soon enrolled in an optional training program at Bannon’s Gymnastics.
Simone began training with coach Aimee Boorman at age eight.
In 2000, Biles’ maternal grandfather, Ron Biles, and his second wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles began caring temporarily for Shanon’s children in the north Houston suburb of Spring, Texas, after learning his grandchildren were in foster care. In 2003, the couple formally adopted Simone and her younger sister Adria. Ron’s sister, Shanon’s aunt Harriet, adopted the two oldest children.
She holds Belizean citizenship through her adoptive mother and considers Belize to be her second home. Biles attended Benfer Elementary School in Harris County, Texas.
In 2012, Biles switched from public school to home schooling, allowing her to increase her training from about 20 to 32 hours a week. She would complete her high-school degree in mid-2015.
Biles verbally committed to UCLA on August 4, 2014, and signed a National Letter of Intent in November 2014,planning to defer enrollment until after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Instead, on July 29, 2015, she announced that she would turn professional and forfeit her NCAA eligibility to compete for UCLA
