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What makes star quality?
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Simone Biles' talent shows talent makes star quality

Simone Biles is a world champion in gymnastics. She has more world medals than any other gymnast and many consider her the greatest gymnast of all time. She is particularly known for perfect execution of extremely difficult skills, having won the most “difficult of all time” vault and floor exercises in women’s gymnastics.

The Argument

Simone Biles first began showing promise as a gymnast when she was 6 years old[1]; she quickly rose up the ranks and competed in the U.S. Classic in 2011 and 2012[2][3], as well as the USA Gymnastics National Championships in 2012[4]. Her international debut occurred only a year later at the 2013 American Cup, in which she came in second place[5]. That same year, she became the seventh woman and the first African American to win the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, even landing ahead of 2010’s world champion Aliya Mustafina[6]. By 2015, she had scored her third all-around national title, becoming the second woman ever to do so[7]. Biles continued to compete in and win titles at various competitions until she was officially named as part of the team for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Her many impressive (and seemingly inhuman) achievements during the Olympics catapulted her to international fame; she became the first quadruple gold medalist in women’s gymnastics since 1984[8] and set a U.S. record for most gold medals won in women’s gymnastics in one Olympic Games[9]. Her talent led to her being selected by Team USA to be the flag bearer in the closing ceremony - she is the first American female gymnast to have been chosen for this honor[10]. Since the Olympics, Biles has continued to set precedents in the gymnastics world. Her 2018 on-vault routine, as well as her 2019 on-floor, are considered next-to-impossible and the most difficult women’s artistic gymnastics routines in history[11]. She has had several elements named after her - one on the vault, one on the balance beam, and two floor exercises. Her floor exercise “Biles II” was rated at the highest difficulty level in all of gymnastics; no other gymnast has been able to successfully complete it[12]. Currently, Biles owns the most world medals in United States history, and has the most gold medals from world championships of any female gymnast[13]. Biles's seemingly super-human skills in gymnastics have led to historic victories and fame for herself and the United States Olympic team.

Counter arguments

Olympians are lauded for their strict diets and intense training regimens. Simone Biles is no different; her hard work, dedication, and passion for gymnastics are what made her continue when other athletes may have quit. While talent is certainly a factor, Biles should be recognized more for her courage and incredible drive - not only in the Olympics but over the course of her entire professional competitive career, which began when she was only 14 years old[2]. Gymnastics is notoriously considered one of the most dangerous sports in existence[14]; the complicated, seemingly superhuman sets that Biles performs could result in injuries that could affect her permanently. However, she continues to persist and trains 6 hours per day in order to stay in shape and improve her skills[15]. Biles has been very outspoken when talking about her mental health struggles, which make her level of dedication to gymnastics that much more impressive. “There were times when I didn’t want to set foot in a gym," she said in an interview with The Guardian. "But am I going to let that keep me from my passion and the goals that I still have? It’s just another bump you have to get over.”[16] Despite her internal struggles and potential danger of gymnastics, Simone Biles continues to train every day to further strengthen her skills and performance.

Proponents

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://achievement.org/achiever/simone-biles/#interview
  2. https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=7997
  3. https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=10037&prog=h
  4. https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=164887
  5. https://www.espn.com/olympics/gymnastics/story/_/id/9007785/american-katelyn-ohashi-15-wins-first-senior-gymnastics-competition
  6. https://www.teamusa.org/News/2013/October/04/Simone-Biles-Crowned-Gymnastics-All-Around-World-Champion
  7. https://www.teamusa.org/News/2015/August/16/Unbeatable-Simone-Biles-Becomes-First-Woman-In-23-Years-To-Win-Three-National-Titles
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Biles
  9. https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/how-many-olympic-medals-has-simone-biles-won-47158189
  10. https://time.com/4460271/rio-2016-olympics-simone-biles-flag-bearer-closing-ceremony/#:~:text=Simone%20Biles%20Will%20Carry%20the%20U.S.%20Flag%20at%20the%20Olympic%20Games%20Closing%20Ceremony,-Katie%20Reilly&text=U.S.%20Olympian%20Simone%20Biles%E2%80%94the,Rio%20de%20Janeiro%20on%20Sunday.
  11. https://www.teamusa.org/News/2019/August/11/Its-Record-Tying-Win-No-6-For-Simone-Biles-At-US-Gymnastics-Championships
  12. https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Gymnastics-Moves-Named-After-Simone-Biles-46488523
  13. https://www.npr.org/2019/10/13/769896721/simone-biles-becomes-the-most-decorated-gymnast-in-world-championship-history
  14. https://www.tiebreaker.com/deadliest-sports-on-earth-ranked/
  15. https://superherojacked.com/2020/04/18/simone-biles-workout/#:~:text=Take%20us%20through%20your%20daily%20workout%20routine.&text=I%20have%20practice%20from%209,and%20usually%20have%20more%20routines.
  16. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/16/simone-biles-therapy-times-didnt-want-set-foot-gym
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 22 Sep 2020 at 13:28 UTC

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