Simone Biles is nothing if not an absolute legend and national treasure. Just two weeks ago, the Olympic gymnast did what no woman in a competition had ever done: successfully completed a Cheng vault with an additional half twist. To date, only men had executed this “roundoff onto the board and half turn onto the table…with only one and a half twists off” in competition. In other words, it’s freaking incredible. On Saturday, it was part of her qualifying routine at the world gymnastics championships in Doha, Qatar—and it was announced later in the day that the move would henceforth be named “The Biles.” But those huge wins weren’t without a bit of drama: Biles had gone to the hospital the night before (Friday) with a kidney stone, less than 24 hours before the championships.
Not that you’d know it: According to The Guardian, she “easily posted the top all-around score of 60.965” at the Saturday championships, showing the highest individual score on vault and floor, plus second on uneven bars in 5 of 11 qualifying groups. USA Today adds that that score was her highest since returning to competition after a year layoff. And yeah, she reportedly nailed that incredible vault.
According to USA Today, Biles said she’d been having back pain over a couple of weeks, and, recently, had also gotten stomach pains (though, she added dismissively, her stomach aches before a meet). On Friday, the pain was reportedly so bad that she was crawling, and joked about going to the hospital; luckily, her mom is a nurse. This world championships was her first in three years, and when she found out she had the stone, she reportedly grabbed her bag and left, saying she’d “deal with the pain later.”
She got back from the ER at 1 A.M. She also understandably passed on the morning’s practice.
“I’m trying not to move every time I do something just in case (the stone) moves,” she told USA Today. “Then I also hear roller coasters might help kidney stones, and I’m like my own roller coaster out there.”
Biles also reportedly did each of the four events all sans serious painkillers because of the sport’s doping rules.
And speaking of that vault, because she landed it in competition, it will officially be named “the Biles”, reports Deadspin.
One more reason to love her?
She apparently named her kidney stone “The Doha Pearl.”
The Doha Pearl.
PHOTO: Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images
Simone Biles, the national treasure.
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