Jaw-dropping sport moments of 2019: Simone Biles stuns a jaded world
American gymnast became the first woman to land two skills thought impossible on her way to five out of six world title golds
Even for those incapable of counting the twists in a triple-twisting double back or distinguishing an Amanar vault from a Cheng, Simone Biles’s triumphant 2019 world championships was a moment. In total, Biles won five gold medals out of the six medal events in Stuttgart, clinching the team competition and all around finals, before dominating the vault, beam and floor event finals. She is now the most decorated gymnast of all time at world championships with 25 medals across five competitions.
One of the greatest difficulties of watching a niche, complex sport such as gymnastics is deciphering the difference between two routines that are usually separated in the scoring by only tenths. But Biles flew higher than the rest of the field, with tighter form and bigger skills. She is so much better than every other gymnast in the world that she makes the sport easy to watch.