Simone Biles Accepts The 2025 Time100 Impact Award In Oscar de la Renta

2025 TIME100 Gala — Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty

Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, clutched another milestone. On April 24 the 11-time Olympic medalist and 30-time World Champion was honored with the TIME100 Impact Award, a prestigious honor given to global leaders at the TIME100 Gala, who have showcased excellence in their field and beyond.

Simone Biles shined a light on the importance of mental health in 2020

Biles has earned a slew of awards for her amazing gymnastics skills over the years, most recently in 2024 when she led Team USA to gold during the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics final at the Paris Olympics, earning her fifth gold medal. It was a triumphant comeback after her emotional experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In 2020, the now-28-year-old star made an incredibly courageous decision to step back from competition, citing her mental health, a declaration she shared not just with the world, but especially with all the Black girls watching. Biles let the world know that it was okay not to be okay, especially for women and girls around the world striving for gold while also grappling with loneliness, fear of failure, and moments of feeling lost—their own versions of the “twisties,” the disorienting condition Biles brought to light in 2020, where gymnasts lose their sense of direction mid-air.

After the Games, Biles co-founded an initiative to expand access to mental health care in underserved communities.

While introducing Biles to the stage during Thursday’s award ceremony in NYC, actress Kirsten Bell described the changemaker as a leader who “continues to use her achievements and her example to lift others up,” according to a press release.

Biles accepted the award with a beaming smile, dressed to the nines in a beautiful Oscar De La Renta dress from the designer’s Pre-Fall 2025 collection.

During her acceptance speech, she reflected on the importance of individuality and why she chose to speak openly about her mental health struggles instead of bottling them in. Talking openly with friends and teammates, and finding moments of joy along the way, became powerful tools in her healing journey.

“I was expected to be robotic and compartmentalize my feelings in order to achieve what might otherwise be an overwhelming goal,” she told the crowd. “But that just wasn’t me. I needed to smile, to laugh, to occasionally play practical jokes. I found ways to keep competition and training environments polite and fun, and it allowed me to succeed.”

Biles urged attendees to create change within their own communities, even if they didn’t have a massive platform like hers.

“You don’t need to stand on an Olympic stage in order to have an impact, and you certainly don’t need to win medals. You just need to show up and stay true to who you are,” she added.

Biles was selected as a Time100 honoree for 2025.

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