The Olympics on Thursday, August 11 brought history to not only one, but two women named Simone.
Earlier in the day, Simone Biles won the women's individual all-around, which is the highest medal that a woman can get. Teammate Aly Raisman claimed the Silver after a disappointing fourth place finish after a tiebreaker for the bronze in London. Simone was favored by almost everyone for this prestigious prize, and nobody was shocked when she nailed all of her routines with very few mistakes. Simone had been the favorite coming into the competition, and had the highest score in the qualifying round. This competition was the only major title she had not won so far, after having won every competition she entered since 2013.
Some people think that Simone is the best gymnast to ever live, and they have good reason to think so. Since 2013, she has topped every single one of her competitors, none of them even coming close to beating her. Svetlana Khorkina of Russia was the first to win three all-around world titles, but Simone was the first to win them consecutively, in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Now, she has won a full quad worth of gold. She has even made mistakes and won those titles. It is more difficult for her to lose than to win. No women has ever had the dominance in the sport that Simone has had, not even the greats like Nadia Comaneci. The only person that can compare with Simone is Kohei Uchimura of Japan, commonly referred to as "King Kohei," who won the men's all-around final on Wednesday. He has not lost a competition since 2008, and he has won two Olympic titles in a row. Some say that he is the greatest male gymnast to ever live.
But Simone was not the only Simone winning last night. In the swimming final for 100m freestyle, Simone Manuel of the USA also got to take home a gold. Surprisingly, Simone was able to best the swimming duo of sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell for the win. Simone herself seemed to be surprised by the win, which also set an Olympic record. She began crying when she saw her score. She tied with Penny Oleksiak of Canada, a rare feat in swimming. In addition to her win, Manuel became the first African-American women to win an individual gold medal in swimming. Manuel says she hopes to inspire others, and thanked others who came before her for paving the way for her victory.
The Simone's add more dominance for the USA in the Olympics, and both make history for their amazing feats. Biles still has three individual finals to go before her competition is over. Both will be remembered for years to come.
