(NEW YORK) — American gymnast Simone Biles has added another title to her resume.
The 11-time Olympic medalist was named Thursday by Sports Illustrated as its 2024 Sportsperson of the Year.
The honor comes after a year in which Biles took the 2024 Paris Olympics by storm, adding four new medals to her collection in team, all-around, vault and floor exercise.
After her performance in Paris, Biles, 27, is now tied for the second-most decorated female gymnast in Olympic history, according to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Biles won three gold medals and a silver medal in Paris just a few years after withdrawing from the team final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she suffered from “the twisties,” a disorienting condition when a gymnast’s mind and body feel dangerously out of sync.
“Simone Biles is Sports Illustrated’s 2024 Sportsperson of the Year because she won gold, and then another gold, and then another; because she changed the face of her sport and the conversations around athletes in general; because she continues to speak out about issues that matter to her,” the magazine wrote of Biles. “And perhaps most of all because after she wondered aloud to [teammate Jordan] Chiles whether she was about to relive the darkest period of her career, she took a deep breath, she saluted the judges and she broke into a run.”
Biles will receive the 2024 Sportsperson of the Year award in person on Jan. 7, when Sports Illustrated holds its annual awards ceremony in Las Vegas.
This year’s ceremony, held at Wynn Las Vegas, will be hosted by actor Keegan-Michael Key.
Sports Illustrated has awarded its Sportsperson of the Year award annually since 1954.
In 2023, the award was presented to University of Colorado head football coach and former NFL star Deion Sanders.
(NEW YORK) — Tiger Woods is mourning the death of his mother, Kultida Woods, and remembering her as “a force of nature all her own.”
The pro golfer took to social media on Tuesday to announce she had died earlier in the day and shared a heartfelt tribute in her honor.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I want to share that my dear mother, Kultida Woods, passed away early this morning,” he began.
“My Mom was a force of nature all her own, her spirit was simply undeniable. She was quick with the needle and a laugh.”
“She was my biggest fan, greatest supporter, without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible,” he continued. “She was loved by so many, but especially by her two grandchildren, Sam and Charlie. Thank you all for your support, prayers and privacy at this difficult time for me and my family. Love you Mom.”
Kultida Woods was present when her son — her only child with husband Earl Woods, who died in 2006 — was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in March 2022 alongside her grandchildren.
Tiger Woods shares his two children, daughter Sam Woods and son Charlie Woods, with his ex-wife Elin Nordegren.
