Simone Biles has already blazed a trail in the athletic arena. The 19-year-old Afro-American led the U.S. gymnastics team to victory in the 2016 Rio Olympics, winning five medals including four golds, becoming the first American gymnast to have made such an accomplishment in a single Olympics.
Now, Biles hopes to duplicate her accomplishment in the spiritual field by sharing to other people about her deep Christian faith.
The gymnast released her first book "Courage To Soar" earlier this month. In it, she encourages readers to work hard for their goals and dreams.
"I want people to reach for their dreams. If you're willing to put in a lot of work, and if you're focused and determined, you can go really far," Biles said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. "There are so many people who have inspired me with their love and encouragement along the way — and I want to pass on that inspiration to readers."
This holiday season, Biles is focusing on children, saying she intends to help mould them into good children of God.
"I wanted to talk about family, competition and things like downfalls and injuries so that kids can understand that I go through those things, too," she told The Houston Chronicle. "Kids today talk about faith, and I think it's OK for me to share my faith so kids can see how it helps you through the whole process."
The "process" Biles was referring to is her struggle with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). When Russian hackers accessed World Anti-Doping Agency documents, they found out that she and three other U.S. athletes tested positive for certain drugs.
A lot of people then assumed that she won the recent Olympics because of the drugs, but Biles said that wasn't the case since the drugs were her medication for ADHD.
"It's not that I'm ashamed of it. I tell kids about it," she said. "But for them to bring that up as a reason why I won and to say that I was doping doesn't make any sense."
