Best of the best — and dressed to impress! Simone Biles is a strong and confident athlete — and it shows when she puts on her gymnastics leotards to compete. The Olympian is all about flaunting her curves on and off the gym floor.
The Texas native is also passionate about highlighting how unrealistic conventional beauty standards have become, even within competitive sports including gymnastics. In February 2020, Simone took to Instagram to share a heartfelt post where she revealed that dealing with those ideals is a “daily challenge” for her.
“In gymnastics, as in many other professions, there is a growing competition that has nothing to do with performance itself. I’m talking about beauty,” she wrote, detailing how societal norms are prevalent in her sport. “I don’t know why but others feel as though they can define your own beauty based on their standards.”
The five-time world all-around champion started her gymnastics career at 6 years old, so by the time she decided to speak out and write the post, she had already “learned to put on a strong front and let most of it slide” over the years. However, she asserted that she was changing that outlook.
“I’m tired of everything in life being turned into a competition, so I’m standing up for myself and for everyone else that has gone through the same,” the four-time gold medalist explained in her post. “Today, I say I am done competing versus beauty standards and the toxic culture of trolling when others feel as though their expectations are not met because nobody should tell you or I what beauty should or should not look like.”
That same month, the Olympic champion inked a brand deal with SK-II, a high-end beauty and skincare company, following her remarks. The brand specifically noted upon announcing the partnership at the 2020 Makers Conference in Los Angeles that they wanted to work with Simone specifically because of her choice to speak out against the pressures women face with beauty and body image.
Scroll through the gallery below to see photos of Simone showing off her strong curves in her best gymnastics leotards!