BREAKING NEWS: Canadian gymnastics star Ellie Black angrily claims: Simone Biles’ race at the 2024 Paris Olympics ‘Is a big deal’ in her reputation: ‘Makes my blood boil’ | HO

From broadening the perspective of high-performance coach Cecile Landy to winning the support of her teammate Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, one of the greatest athletes ever, has transformed the gymnastics landscape for good. Here’s what gymnasts really think of her.

For starters, she’s difficult to coach—not because she’s tough to deal with, but because she generates incredible pressure on her coaches. When you sign up to coach Simone Biles, you’re taking on the impossible task of perfecting what’s already perfect. Cecile Landy remembers being bombarded with questions about how she could possibly make Simone better. However, credit to her for doing just that. Before she succeeded, Landy, a 1996 Olympian turned coach, had to seriously up her game. It was a job that had failure written all over it.

When Simone opened up about her mental health during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Landy had to make significant changes to her coaching philosophy. The star coach claims it was because of Simone that she became much more observant. Apart from ensuring her pupils performed well, she also wanted them to be happy. Cecile started picking up on body language and always asked her athletes if they were okay or if there was something they needed to talk about. While this might not seem like a big deal, Landy comes from a time when coaches would straight up slam gymnasts for being lazy. Simone added a lot of depth to her coaching and made mentor-student relationships much more constructive and healthy. Apart from calling her the greatest gymnast of all time, Landy credits her for changing the game for the better.

When you have the likes of Nadia Comaneci calling Simone the best, there’s not much left to say. This is perhaps the greatest compliment of all time. A legend like Nadia claiming someone is actually better than her is rare. But that’s the thing about Simone—she’s a complete magician whenever she steps on the mats. It’s not surprising that she has a handful of moves named after her.

When asked about what she thought of the 26-year-old, Comaneci said she’s easily the best performer in the world right now and there’s no one who can top what she’s doing because she’s truly the best. When it comes to tumbling, no one does it better. What surprises people is not just Simone’s ability to pull off such tough performances but her ability to do so consistently. Nadia jokingly said Simone has a habit of one-upping legends. Simone does the same exact routine as Nadia but adds an extra flip to make it extraordinary. The legendary gymnast claims Biles is on such a different level that not even some men can do the skills she performs.

To understand what gymnasts really think about her, it’s important to talk about when she had the twisties. The twisties are a severe mental block that prevents gymnasts from pulling off even the most basic twisting routines. This is what caused Biles to sit out the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It was the first time an athlete sat out the Olympics because of mental health issues. Despite being the greatest of all time, Simone wasn’t sure she’d get support. However, because of her influence on the sport, thousands of fans and pro gymnasts lined up to support her. Among those gymnasts were Kerri Strug and Dominique Moceanu.

Dominique Moceanu was perhaps the first person to support Simone for making such a gutsy call. She recalled the time when she was just 14 years old and had to perform with a tibial stress fracture. There was no concept of how gymnasts felt back then—it was only about winning medals and sticking perfect landings. For someone like Moceanu to see Simone standing up for herself was exceptional. It was the first time a gymnast had a say about their own health. Because of that, Dominique respects everything Biles has done. Even Strug thought that Simone challenging authority was a first and will play a huge role in gymnastics for years to come. Listening to legends like Strug and Moceanu is enough to recognize the 26-year-old as the GOAT.

Lori Hernandez also expressed her admiration for Simone. One reason people were so shocked when she pulled out of the 2020 Olympics is her habit of dominating. Watching her perform, you’d wonder how she’s able to pull off such complex routines so effortlessly. What seems effortless is actually years of struggle, both mental and physical. Despite being the greatest of all time, Simone has to be extremely disciplined and tough on herself. When she pulled out, it was unbelievable for everyone. But Lori said Simone’s decision showed incredible strength. There’s an entire country that wants Biles to go out there, dominate, win medals, and make it look easy. The pressure on her shoulders is immense, and announcing she wouldn’t compete took immense courage.

Former Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon was amazed by her ability to keep going for so long. Even though she’s only 26, she’s been at the top for years. Rippon was behind her decision and couldn’t stop talking about the pressure she’s been under. Winning despite being under so much pressure is heroic.

Finally, Aly Raisman, who has an unbreakable bond with Simone, regards her as a true pioneer in the sport. She credits Simone for setting new standards and changing how the game is practiced. Both Aly and Biles have gone through similar experiences during their careers, and they have the utmost respect for each other. Raisman recognizes her friend as the queen of the sport and hinted that fans might see the 26-year-old competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

VIDEO:

From winning the respect of her teammates to being praised by legends of the sport, this is what gymnasts think of Simone Biles.