How Old Was Simone Biles When She Started Gymnastics

Picture this: a tiny, hyperactive six-year-old in a daycare center, bouncing off the walls like she had springs for legs. Her name is Simone, and she’s already been through more foster homes than most adults will see in a lifetime. On a field trip to a local gym, she spots a mat—and without a second thought, she launches herself into a backflip. The coaches, Bannon and Aimee Boorman, freeze mid-conversation. They don’t know it yet, but they’ve just witnessed the spark that would ignite the most decorated gymnast in history.

That’s the story, but here’s the real question: how old was Simone Biles when she started gymnastics?

The answer is six years old. Yes, six. That’s first-grade territory—the age when most kids are still mastering shoelaces and losing their teeth. But Simone didn’t just “start” gymnastics at six; she discovered it. The day of that chaotic daycare field trip to Bannon’s Gymnastix in Houston, Texas, is the official origin story. Her coaches immediately sent a letter home to her grandparents (who adopted her a few years later) saying, “Your granddaughter is talented. She needs a real gym.” Talk about a neon sign from the universe, right?

Wait—so she didn’t start as a toddler, like most Olympic gymnasts?

I know what you’re thinking: “But everyone says elite gymnasts start at age three or four, crawling into a leotard before they can talk.” And yeah, that’s almost true for many—but Simone is the glorious exception. Compared to peers like Aly Raisman (who started at two) or Gabby Douglas (who started at six but had gymnastics-level energy from birth), Simone was a late bloomer. Six years old is practically retirement age in the super-serious gymnastics world. The irony? That late start probably saved her. It meant fewer years of burnout, fewer over-trained joints, and more raw joy in the sport. (Side note: I wonder if her daycare workers ever casually said, “Oh, that kid will be fine,” while she was inventing new ways to defy gravity.)

But let’s rewind: six is still young, just not baby-young.

Simone spent her first year doing what most kids do: cartwheels, handstands, and obsessive practice. By age seven, she was training 12 hours a week. By eight, she was competing in her first meet—and she fell off the beam. Ouch. But here’s the kicker: she didn’t cry. Her coach said she just got up, laughed, and tried again. That grit didn’t come from years of gymnastics; it came from life. Simone had already learned resilience in ways most adults never have to. Starting at six just gave her a place to channel that fire.

Watch: Rare footage shows baby Simone Biles start her pro gymnastics career

So why does this matter—and why do we care so much about the age?

Because the “start age” myth is a weird obsession in sports. We love to believe that greatness requires a perfect, early start—like you miss the window and you’re doomed. But Simone Biles smashed that idea. She started at six, took a few years to hit elite level (at 14), and then proceeded to rewrite physics. The takeaway? It’s not about when you start—it’s about how you start. Simone started with a daycare field trip, a dropped jaw, and a coach who saw potential in sheer chaos. That’s the magic.

And here’s the funny part: if Simone had started at two, she might have burned out by ten. Instead, she showed up at six, with a wild spirit and zero fear, and the sport adapted to her. She wasn’t molded from clay; she was a hurricane that found a gym. So next time your kid—or you, at any age—wants to try something new, remember: Simone Biles didn’t start gymnastics until she was six. And she turned out okay. (Actually, “okay” is the understatement of the century.)

Simone Biles, the viral childhood video that reveals the birth of an

One more thing: the age isn’t the story—the reaction is.

When that daycare letter arrived saying, “Your granddaughter has talent,” her grandparents could have brushed it off. Instead, they drove her to the gym, waited in the parking lot, and let her fly. That trust—at age six—was the real launchpad. Because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you start gymnastics at two, six, or sixteen. What matters is that someone sees the spark and hands you a match. Simone Biles started at six. That’s just the calendar. The story is about what happens when you let a six-year-old with reasons to struggle find a place where struggling becomes a superpower.

So, ready to try something new? You’re not late. You’re exactly on time.