Soccer legend Megan Rapinoe and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Thursday afternoon from President Joe Biden.
The 37-year-old is the first soccer player to receive the honor and the sixth female athlete in history. At 25-years-old, Biles became the youngest athlete since Tiger Woods received the honor in 2019 at 43. Fifteen other individuals were honored at Thursday’s ceremony. The medal is often thought of as the highest civilian honor in the United States.
“Beyond the World Cup titles and the Olympic medals, Megan is a champion for [an] essential American truth that everyone — everyone — is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect,” Biden said in his speech about Rapinoe.