TURTLE WHO BECAME THE GOAT

But Biles wants to be as known for her advocacy as her gymnastics career

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To end the Olympics she once thought would never happen for her, Simone Biles began her floor exercise routine on Aug 5 and did what she was made to do - flip and twist and thrill an arena filled with people there to watch her.

Every time she landed one of her wildly difficult tumbling passes, the crowd seemed to shout "Wow!" all at once.

And when she was done, standing alone on the floor in her sparkly leotard, the spectators rose to honour her perhaps as much for her entire career as for a brilliant but flawed floor routine.

Biles stepped out of bounds twice during the routine, which was by far the most difficult that any of the finalists attempted. As a result, she did not win, as expected.

Instead, she received the silver medal, while Brazil's Rebeca Andrade won gold by just 0.033 of a point. American Jordan Chiles, one of Biles' close friends, won the bronze. When Chiles' medal was announced, she cried - and Biles smiled and laughed while hugging her.

Proving there were no hard feelings, the American duo turned to face Andrade and then bowed to her from the lower platforms of the podium as the Brazilian stepped up with her arms raised high - a moment that quickly went viral.

Three years earlier, Biles withdrew from nearly all of her events at the Tokyo Games after becoming disoriented in the air, a moment that prompted her to consider quitting the sport.

On Aug 5, she finished the Paris Games with three gold medals and one silver (earlier in the day, she finished fifth on the balance beam after losing points because of a fall).

Her imperfect final performances did little to dull her lustre at these Games. On each day she competed, celebrities dotted the stands, making gymnastics seem like the hippest club in Paris.

There was Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise and Ariana Grande, and sports legends including Serena Williams, Michael Phelps and Stephen Curry.