The Fine Line

Mary Lou Retton has described her as the top gymnast in history.

Bela Karolyi has compared her to Nadia Comaneci.

At the Olympics, those athletes became legends.

Simone Biles is ready to join their company. If she performs as everyone predicts, she'll win five gold medals in Rio.

At 19, Biles has already won the most gold medals in the history of the world championships. She's also the first woman to win three consecutive all-around titles there.

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Her signature move is a double layout with a half-twist and a blind landing. When she first performed it in 2013, no one else had ever tried it in competition.

It's now officially known as "The Biles."

You can see it here.

Simone Biles

I've seen some of, like, my guy friends try it — but they never land it. So they get really upset.”

Let's take a look at that again.

Biles is only 4-foot-8.

But at the peak of this pass, she'll clear nearly twice her own height.

Biles has an incredibly powerful run. Her competitors have to go farther before they can start tumbling.

Coach Aimee Boorman

Simone doesn’t require a lot of run into her tumbling skills, so she can fit a longer pass onto the floor than a lot of athletes.”

Less time running means more time tumbling. She's able to include more elements than her competitors do.

This jump is a simple skill, but Biles has the extra space to complete it, earning her extra points.

More elements. More difficulty. A higher potential score.

Nastia Liukin, 2008 gold medalist

Normally the separations between first and second place could be three-tenths or five-tenths, and she goes out and wins by one or two points.”

Biles is clearly a prodigy. Her natural "air awareness" was apparent at an early age.

Coach Boorman

I would say it's probably no more than three days that it takes her to achieve a new skill. Many athletes — it takes them years.”

Here she is, competing as a child.

Most top gymnasts are dominant in only one event, but Biles is an exception. She's nearly unbeatable on floor, and she's expected to win gold on both vault and on beam.

This is her Amanar, one of the hardest vaults performed by women. Other athletes do it, but none can match her height, execution and consistency.

On beam, her tumbling pass is one you might see on floor.

She does it on a surface four inches wide.

Simone Biles

It’s also the hardest dismount in the world. And I’m the only one that does it.”

Nastia Liukin, 2008 Gold Medalist

At this point in time, nobody can beat Simone Biles.”

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