Simone Biles' biological mother asks for contact with her after abandoning her at age 6

The 2024 Paris Games were held under the spotlight of a constellation of sports stars who achieved historic results. Among them, the one who shone the brightest was the American gymnast Simone Biles (27), who three years after suffering a mental breakdown in the middle of the Tokyo Games not only led the United States team to gold, but also took first place medals in the individual all-around and vault competitions, earning a silver on the floor in the process.

Biles has won eleven Olympic medals throughout her career, which has been full of obstacles at all levels since her childhood, starting with her mother’s abandonment when she was only six years old. A situation that the then child did not understand very well, but that her biological mother, Shanon, wants to be able to explain to her one day, as she revealed in her first interview with the media.

Simone Biles celebrates her Olympic gold

AFP

Shanon, now 52, has sat down with reporters from the Daily Mail to talk about the pride she feels at her daughter Simone’s record-breaking triumph and how she has managed to bounce back from her meltdown at the previous Olympics. Now, she hopes to be able to reach out to her to ask for forgiveness for the past, with his life destroyed by his drug addiction, which also led to him leaving her.

“It was hard to give up my kids, but I had to do what I had to do. I couldn’t take care of them. I was still using and Ronald [Shanon’s father] didn’t want me coming in and out of their lives when I wasn’t well,” she explained to the aforementioned media outlet.

Simone Biles’ mother wants to reach out to her daughter.

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Shanon’s drug and alcohol addiction made life untenable at home, with the children being seized by authorities on several occasions and sent to foster homes. Given the situation, Shanon’s father and his wife, Nellie, were forced to intervene.

The couple took care of Simone and her younger sister, Adria (22), while the American gymnast’s two older brothers, Ashley (34) and Tevin (29), were taken in by Ronald’s sister, Harriet.

Simone’s biological father, Kevin Clemons, also has no contact with his daughter and struggled with his own addiction issues in the past.

Since then, Shanon has remained estranged from her children’s lives, missing out on all the big moments. Now, she wants to make peace with her daughter, without looking back. “I would just ask her to forgive me. Can we move on? Don’t judge me for my past, let’s move on,” she pleads. Shanon is sure that the reunion will happen, sooner or later. “I just have to be patient,” she says.

Simone’s biological father, Kevin Clemons, who lives in Cleveland, also has no contact with his daughter and has struggled with his own addiction issues in the past.

The woman still lives in Columbus, Ohio (USA), in the same house where Simone Biles grew up in the first years of her life. However, her life is not easy, as she has serious financial problems, having applied to the courts to be declared insolvent in 2018 due to her multiple debts. In addition, she has had several run-ins with the law in recent years. The little she knows about her daughter she learns from her father.

“I am a recovering addict and I will always be an addict,” Shanon admits, insisting that she is not “the person I used to be.” She says she is doing well. “I am a caring person. I would give you the shirt off my back. I am very different from what I have been portrayed to be.”