RIO DE JANEIRO —She took one deep breath and then stepped forward onto the mat. Thousands of cameras flashed like lightning down on the girl whose entire athletic life had been building to this moment.
The floor exercise has always been the signature event for Simone Biles. It’s her blank canvas, the place where her artistic and physical brilliance is best expressed.
In June I attended one of Biles’ workout sessions at her gym in Spring, Texas, and she was refining her floor routine. She practiced her famous move—“the Biles”—that she debuted at the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.