Swimsuit

10 Astonishing Photos of Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles in Houston

The gymnast has been featured in two SI Swimsuit issues.

Cara O’Bleness

Simone Biles

Simone Biles was photographed by James Macari in Houston.

Simone Biles is arguably the greatest gymnast of all time. The 26-year-old athlete has accumulated seven Olympic medals—including four golds, one silver and two bronze—since her debut in Rio in 2016. She’s currently tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast of all time.

After her incredible performance in Rio, Biles famously stated, “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps—I’m the first Simone Biles.”

Biles made her SI Swimsuit debut in 2017 when she and fellow Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman posed for photographer James Macari in Houston. The athlete returned to the magazine for a second feature two years later. She traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she worked with visual artist Walter Chin.

While Biles admitted that she was nervous going into her first SI Swimsuit photo shoot because she “didn’t know what to expect,” she immediately felt comfortable on set.

“Holding onto concrete is a little bit different because usually we’re holding onto bars or other things, but I think that’s what makes it unique,” Biles said of the athletic poses she struck while on location in a sculpture garden.

Today, Biles is a GK Gymnastics ambassador and is engaged to Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens. The two got engaged last February and are set to exchange vows any day now.

Below are 10 of our favorite photos from Biles’s debut SI Swimsuit photo shoot in Houston.

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Cara O’Bleness

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.