Rio Olympics 2016: Why Simone Biles is the best at the Games

“She’s the best I’ve ever seen,” says 1984 Olympic all-around champion Mary Lou Retton, while 2008 all-around champion Nastia Liukin is equally lavish in her praise, describing her as “the best gymnast that has ever lived”.

But there is more to Biles than gymnastic genius. “Her story is incredibly compelling,” says Quinn.

She was adopted by grandfather Ron, an air traffic controller, and his wife Nellie, a former nurse, as her birth-mother, dependent on drugs and alcohol, was unable to care for her eight children.

The girl who accidentally stumbled upon gymnastics when on a field trip as a six-year-old is also a member of the most racially and ethnically diverse group of Olympic gymnasts in the American team’s history.

“They are demonstrating there really are no racial boundaries from the standpoint of participation in our sport,” said USA gymnastics president Steve Penny.

Of the five women representing the United States, Douglas and Biles are black, Laurie Hernandez is Hispanic with Puerto Rican heritage and Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman, who is Jewish, are both white.

Biles is not the first black American gymnast to compete at the Olympics and she is not the first black woman to win the Olympic all-round gold – her team-mate Douglas did so in 2012.

But US President Barack Obama has spoken this year of his country’s deepening sense of alienation and anger, so will Biles’ Olympic achievements positively impact an America which is politically and racially divided?

“African Americans, especially young girls, get an opportunity to see themselves in Biles; not so much winning a gold medal, but the adulation and cheers that come with it,” says Professor Moore.

“In this society, we don’t do a great job of celebrating black women the way we should.

“African Americans also get an opportunity to see a black person succeed in a space that has traditionally been seen as off limits – but we’re in the midst of a Black Lives Matter movement for a reason.

“Most African Americans are still fighting for equality, better schools, equal pay, access to jobs – and also an end to abuse from police and the criminal justice system.

“Her success should be celebrated, it’s a great story, but we also have to remember that Biles’ success won’t change the problems most African Americans still face.

“In the end, however, I think her success will inspire others to dream – and everyone will remember this as the Olympics they saw Simone Biles.”