Starting today, every Wednesday we will profile a female athlete that embodies a champion. Unfortunately, we have neglected to write enough about female athletes. Our apologies, are working on that and it is being addressed. Woman Crush Wednesday is dedicated solely to female athletes. It is a dedication and celebration of their athletic accomplishments, not a profile commenting on their appearance. After much deliberation, our first pick is Simone Biles.

Only 20 years old, Simone has already accomplished than many athletes achieve in their lifetime’s. She won the all-around Olympic Gold Medal in Rio for gymnastics, as well as 4 other medals (4 gold and 1 bronze in total).

Fierce. That is the perfect word to describe Simone. Her focus, determination, and passion for her sport shows when she competes. She loves to win and is not afraid to fight to win. Her smile is glorious and her ability to balance her ambition with her persona is masterful. It is almost as if she balances on a beam for a living.

She joined team USA shortly after her senior year of high school. She easily could have been intimidated by her teammates Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas who were both extremely gifted and fierce in their own right. Instead, Simone rose to the occasion and became a champion.

Learning about her childhood, it is not difficult to understand why she would not be intimidated and she was prepared for the spotlight. Simone was born in Columbus, Ohio. Unfortunately, her birth mother and biological father struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Simone and her three siblings were in and out of foster homes. She ultimately was raised by her grandfather and her step-grandmother. She moved to Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. It was there that she discovered gymnastics as part of a day-care field trip at the age of 6. She soon began to train due to the encouragement of the instructors on the field trip.

From there, Simone blossomed into a dynamic gymnast. She officially began her junior career in 2011 at a meet in Houston. She finished third-all around. Due to her success, she began homeschooling to increase her training regiment.

All the hard work paid off and she began to turn some heads on the national gymnastics scene. She soon became the pride of USA gymnastics, constantly leading team USA to team championships. In 2016, she was officially named to the 2016 Team USA Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team.

The rest is history. She dominated. She won the all-around gold medal in convincing fashion. She helped Team USA and the final five to a back-to-back Team Gold medal. She then was picked to be the flag bearer for the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games for Team USA.

So here is to Simone Biles. Our first and most deserving Woman Crush Wednesday (and everyday). We cannot wait to see what is in store for your future.

Have a female athlete worthy of our Woman Crush Wednesday? Let us know streetsmartsports@gmail.com.