American gymnastics star Simone Biles may have won five Olympic medals, but it’s her mother, Nellie Biles, who feels like the real champion

American gymnastics star Simone Biles may have won five Olympic medals, but it’s her mother, Nellie Biles, who feels like the real champion.

“Simone’s road to the Olympics has been an amazing journey for our whole family. I’m so grateful,” Nellie Biles says.

You see, Simone Biles’s accomplishments stem from her mother’s ability to create a “village” (a tight-knit community of family and friends) that supports her daughter through thick and thin. For example, the extended Biles family hosts weekly family dinners, attends church together, and all fly to Rio de Janeiro to watch Simone shine at the Olympics.

Simone, 27, and her 25-year-old sister Adria were adopted by Nellie Biles and her husband Ron, Simone and Adria’s biological grandfather, when they were young. Nellie Biles wants her children to know and understand that they are loved unconditionally — and that’s part of the magic of the Biles family.
Nellie Biles sat down to discuss her commitment to family and how she keeps her daughter grounded in life.
Nellie Biles: From the start, she absolutely loved gymnastics. I always supported her, but I never thought much of it. It wasn’t until 2012, when Simone won her first all-around [at the American Classic in Huntsville, Texas] that I really started to believe … wow, my daughter really gets this sport.

The following year, she was a senior in high school and had turned 16 years old. So a lot of things were evolving in her life. Simone started having problems with concentration and her focus was off, and as a result her performance was a bit rough at the Secret U.S. Classic. After that competition, we talked to a sports psychologist, which helped her regain focus.

I believe her talking to those two therapists was really key. She then went on to win the women’s individual all-around at the [2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Antwerp, Belgium]. Once that happened, I knew we were headed to greater times. I always knew she could physically do it. She was capable. It was her mental status that needed to be aligned. And it all worked out.

Nellie Biles: I think it’s important that we function as a family. Not only for my two girls, but for Simone’s brothers, too; because I have four children. The boys are grown and live on their own, but they still come to the house and visit quite frequently.

But, in particular, Simone and Adria normally train all week except Sunday. So there’s no real break. However, on Saturday, they start at 9 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. Because that’s an early end day, the girls often use that afternoon to get their nails or hair done.

However, during the week, they are balancing school, work and gymnastics, and that pretty much takes up their time. Then Sunday is family day, so we always go to church together. And I normally leave it up to the girls to decide what we are having for Sunday dinner, and they will argue about what they want, but they eventually come to some sort of consensus. The boys come over in the evening time, and we just enjoy each other’s company.

Nellie Biles: There are a few for me. But just celebrating all of Simone’s accomplishments was just so special. We didn’t get a chance to see her that often because Simone was in the Olympic Village and we were in a hotel. We brought a group of 17 family members and friends to Rio with us, just to support her. So having such a huge amount of support in general was quite memorable.

Each time we came back from competition, we’d all sit down and celebrate as a group. We wanted to recall and discuss what we had just witnessed, and it was just so special to share those moments with friends and family. We all got together about six or seven times during the Olympics and it was simply amazing. After each competition, we all shared that experience together.

Though there was one particular moment that truly stuck out to me. It was when we first saw Simone, which was when the U.S. won gold in team competition, she along with the other gymnasts came around to our hotel. It was a big celebration for all of the athletes and families, and that was an amazing experience for us all.

Nellie Biles: I am absolutely a basket case during competition. Whenever we go to the meets, my family knows not to talk to me. I’m in my own space. I don’t want any comments. I don’t want anyone to say anything to me until it’s over. Now depending on how nervous I get, I’ll squeeze my husband’s hand or Adria’s hand. I may look calm, but I’m not. I’m [a] total wreck until it’s over. I cannot eat or drink the entire day leading up to the competition.