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‘Time’ Just Crowned Simone Biles as Athlete of the Year

This just in: Simone Biles is Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year.

Yesterday, the outlet confirmed the exciting news and revealed that the gymnast’s positive influence throughout 2021 sealed the deal.

“I do believe everything happens for a reason, and there was a purpose,” Biles told Time. “Not only did I get to use my voice, but it was validated as well.”

The announcement should come as no surprise to those who’ve been following Biles’s career. The athlete made headlines earlier this year when she stepped away from the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health. She also candidly spoke out against the abuse she suffered at the hands of former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.

In the feature, Biles peers discuss her accomplishments as a gymnast. This includes Olympian Allyson Felix, who sees the athlete as an ideal role model for her daughter, Camryn.
“To see her choose herself, we’re going to see the effects of that for the next generation,” Felix said. “When thinking about role models for Cammy, wow, here is someone showing you can choose your mental health over what the world says is the most important thing.”

Biles’s teammate Sunisa “Suni” Lee also chimed in and confirmed that it’s a well-deserved honor. “What Simone did changed the way we view our well-being, 100 percent,” she explained. “It showed us that we are more than the sport, that we are human beings who also can have days that are hard. It really humanized us.”

While discussing the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Lee said, “We all knew we had to continue not without her, but for her.”

Talk about an accomplishment.

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greta

Senior Editor

Greta Heggeness is a California-based editor at PureWow and has been writing about entertainment since 2015. She covers everything from awards shows to exclusive celebrity...