By Dominick Buccitti – Editor-in-Chief

Team USA fans may recognize Simone Biles as a five-time Olympic medalist, who has been given the title as the best female gymnast in the world. But what fans may not know is that she has faced many struggles in her early life.

In her Lifetime special, “The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar,” which aired February 3, Biles’ life is shown with her grandparents adopting her and her sister Adria, after having their mother Shanon lose custody of them, due to her drug and alcohol addiction. The special follows Biles from that point to her first joining Bannon’s Gymnastix, the very same gym that would train her until she switched to the World Champions Center.

In 2012, Biles switched to homeschooling, in order to focus on training. When her senior year came, she had to make a decision between attending the University of California at Los Angeles or to take in sponsorship, where many came in after she had received medals at three World Championships.

Overall, the special was specular, accurately portraying the events, especially the Olympics. It was admirable showing clips competing at her various competitions from when she was a Junior-level gymnast to an Olympian.

With such great aspects of the special, especially how identical the actors and actresses looked like Biles’ family and friends, came one problem; the special did not cover the Olympics portion of the special as long as the other parts. Besides this, the special was flawless.

The viewer, after watching this special, will be inspired to have the courage to soar.  

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars