It is common knowledge that Simone Biles is short. At just 1.42 meters, she was the shortest among the 555 athletes representing the US at the Rio Olympics. However, she is not the shortest gymnast to represent the States at the Olympics.
Fans of the sport are aware that gymnasts generally have short stature. Their body frame is much smaller than that of the average athlete. However, the sport itself demands the requirement of shorter than average athletes.
Gymnast shorter than Simone Biles to represent the US team
Looking at it from the perspective of physics, it seems to make sense. The smaller and lighter build of gymnasts enables them to rotate their bodies to perform highly technical moves with less effort. It is because there is lesser inertia at play.
Moreover, lighter frames can help gymnasts jump higher. It can also help them perform flips and rotations more efficiently. Besides, a smaller structure requires lesser strength and energy than an average athlete to perform the moves.
Although Biles was the shortest athlete on the US team at the Rio Olympics, she is not the shortest in the sport’s history. The title of the shortest gymnast to represent the country at the Olympics belongs to Kerri Strug, who stands at 1.41 meters.
Strug competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. But she could not secure an individual medal at the Games; helping the team claim a bronze medal. However, she is famously known for her performance at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Kerri Strug performs second vault despite injury
At the meet, all eyes were fixated on her. Kerri’s performance in the two vaults meant the difference between gold and silver for the US team. However, disaster ensued during the gymnast’s first vault. Strug made an awkward landing during one of the moves and sprained her ankle with two torn ligaments.
However, she proceeded to perform her second vault with an injured ankle. Moreover, Kerri nailed the landing to help the US team clinch the gold medal. It went down in history as the first team gold medal for the US team in women’s gymnastics.
Famously, Strug came to Biles’ support after the GOAT withdrew from several events at the Tokyo Olympics. Naturally, the former gymnast can relate to her successor as they both belong to the same field of athletes that requires them to endure much pressure and pain. And Kerri has gone through much of what Biles has had to endure during her competitive years.
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