Simone Biles: Nine of the Olympic champion's best outfits, from crystals to pastels

As the champion is going for gold at the Paris Olympics, we highlight some of her most memorable looks

Simone Biles practises for the Paris Olympic Games in a Team US leotard covered in more than 6,000 Swarovski crystals. Getty Images

The American gymnast Simone Biles is best known for two things. One is her total dominance of gymnastics from her early days as the breakout star of the 2016 Rio Olympics and becoming the most-decorated gymnast; the other is her unrepentant love of sparkles.

Aged only 27 and currently competing in her third Olympic Games in Paris, Biles has already amassed 37 medals – seven Olympic and 30 Championship – and is widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, across both genders. Seemingly fearless, she has perfected routines that seem to defy physics and already has five new moves named after her.

Being a competitive gymnast, donning a leotard will be second nature to Biles and she seems at ease making each one her own courtesy of a handful of crystals. Working closely with GK Elite Sportswear, the company behind competition-level apparel, Biles is able to bring her own ideas regarding colours and the quantity of shimmer for her looks. Here we track some of her best looks to date, both on and off the mat.

Paris 2024 Olympics

Simone Biles competing in the women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Paris Olympics. AP

For the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA have been dressed once again by GK Elite Sportswear, in a series of looks described as the "most expensive in history". With different looks for practice, competition and the medal ceremonies, each one is covered in more than 6,000 Swarovski crystals and is said to be worth more than $3,000.

2021 Met Gala

Simone Biles arriving at the 2021 Met Gala. Her dress weighed about 40kg. EPA

For the 2021 Met Gala, with its 'In America: A Lexicon of Fashion' theme, Biles arrived in a dress weighing just shy of 40kg. Designed by Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk of Area, it was inspired by the night sky and comprised a full-length black bodysuit, covered in crystals in star patterning, worn underneath a heavy silver skirt, smothered in silver and white beading. Made using 5,181 metres of Swarovski glass, the dress took close to 7,000 hours to complete.

2021 MTV Video Music Awards

On the red carpet ahead of presenting at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York in 2021. EPA

In September 2021, Biles turned her hand to presenting at the MTV VMAs, choosing not sparkles, but rather a sleek, fitted dress in pastel pink. With a high slit and an asymmetric neckline (a clever nod to her skill on the uneven bars) it was a departure from her usual style.

2019 US National Championships

Biles wears a leotard with a goat's head picked out in rhinestone to the 2019 US Championship. Photo: Olympics.com

For the warm up session at the US National Championships in 2019, Biles rolled up wearing a two-tone leotard in white and metallic pewter. When she turned around, however, it revealed her name emblazoned across the back and a goat's head picked out in rhinestone. Biles explained it was her response to "haters" who had complained about her being the only one to add her surname to the team uniform for the US. Classic that same year. An acronym of the term Greatest Of All Time, 'Goat' is applied to those deemed to be at the very top of their game and has been used to describe Biles for years.

2020 Tokyo Olympics

Simone Biles had to withdraw from many disciplines at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, due to a condition known as the 'twisties'. PA

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were difficult for Biles, who had to withdraw from several events due to the condition gymnasts call the 'twisties', that leaves them unable to gauge spatial awareness. For her few appearances, however, Biles was resplendent in a red, white and blue leotard covered in cascading rhinestones.

2016 Rio Olympics

Simone Biles burst on to the world stage at the 2016 Rio Olympics. EPA

Biles took the world by storm at the 2016 Rio Olympics where, at 16, she won four golds and one bronze. One of her looks was in bright red, with curls of sequins down the arms and cascading down the body.

2023 US National Championships

Biles backstage at the 2023 US National Championships, that marked her return to top-tier competition. Photo: Simone Biles / Instagram

If the Tokyo Olympics was the low point of Biles's career, then the 2023 US National Championships can be seen as her comeback tour. Dressed in a black leotard criss-crossed with lines of tiny iridescent leaves, Biles had taken time to recover from what she described as her "trauma response" to the abuse she and hundreds of other gymnasts suffered at the hands of the US team doctor (who was later sentenced to 60 years in jail) and stormed the competition in a return to form in which she finished an astonishing 3.9 points ahead of her closest rival.

2021 Gold Over America Tour

Dressed as Wonder Woman, Simone Biles performs during the Gold Over America Tour. AFP

For The Gold Over America Tour – a travelling gymnastic extravaganza featuring many top US gymnasts that ran from 2021 to 2022, one of Biles's costumes had her dressed as Wonder Woman, which is apt considering her impact on the sport.

2022 Medal of Freedom

Simone Biles receives the US Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden in July 2022. Photo Simone Biles / Instagram

When Biles was awarded the America Medal of Freedom in July 2022, she became its youngest recipient in a testament to her achievements. For the ceremony, where President Joe Biden personally hung the medal around her neck, Biles opted for a demure, black skirt suit, with matt detailing around the collar and pockets. The suit was shot through with a tone-on-tone sheen that elevated the look on the diminutive star.