You’ve seen her flying through the air, looking less like a human and more like a rocket. It’s wild to watch. But if you’ve ever stood next to a door frame and wondered where the "GOAT" would actually reach, you’re not alone. Honestly, the number usually surprises people. Simone Biles is 4 feet 8 inches tall.
That is not a typo. She is 4'8".
For context, the average American woman is about 5'4". That means Biles is nearly a full head shorter than the average person you’d pass at the grocery store. In the world of elite sports, where we’re used to seeing 7-foot basketball players or 6-foot swimmers with wingspans like small planes, Biles is a complete outlier. But here’s the thing: her height isn't a limitation. It’s basically the reason she can do things that literally nobody else on Earth can.
How tall is Simone Biles compared to other gymnasts?
People often think all gymnasts are tiny. Sorta true, but not entirely.
While the "typical" gymnast is definitely on the smaller side, Biles is even short for her own sport. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, she was actually the shortest athlete on the entire U.S. Olympic team across all sports. Think about that for a second. Out of hundreds of world-class athletes, she was the smallest.
If you look at her teammates over the years, the difference is pretty funny. Suni Lee stands at 5'0". Jordan Chiles is roughly 4'11". Even her younger sister, Adria Biles, is about 5'2"—a "good head taller" than Simone, as Adria once joked. But being 4'8" gives Simone a physics advantage that's hard to beat.
The physics of being 4'8"
Why does it matter? It comes down to something called the "moment of inertia."
Basically, the shorter you are, the faster you can rotate. Imagine a long stick spinning in a circle versus a short pencil. The pencil is going to whip around much faster. Because Biles is so compact, she can fit more twists and flips into a single jump than someone who is 5'5".
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- Rotational Speed: She spins like a top because her mass is concentrated close to her center.
- Power-to-Weight Ratio: She is almost entirely muscle. Carrying less "dead weight" (in the form of height/bone) allows her to propel herself higher.
- Center of Gravity: Being lower to the ground makes her balance on the 4-inch wide beam almost superhuman.
What most people get wrong about her size
I’ve seen some weird rumors online. Some people wonder if she has a medical condition or dwarfism. Honestly, the answer is just genetics and the "selection" of the sport.
Biles has addressed this herself. Back in 2018, she told Today that she’s "stuck" at 4'8" and has learned to love her body exactly as it is. She’s not "too small"; she’s perfectly built for what she does. There’s no medical mystery here—just a really powerful, compact athlete who happens to be 142 cm tall.
Actually, the sport of gymnastics has been trending "shorter" for decades. In the 1950s and 60s, champions were often around 5'3". By the time we got to the 90s and 2000s, that average dropped closer to 4'9" or 4'10". Biles is just the ultimate version of that evolution.
Standing next to legends
The internet loves a good height comparison photo. One of the most famous is Biles standing next to NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal.
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Shaq is 7'1". Biles is 4'8".
In the photo, she barely reaches his ribs, even while wearing heels. It looks like a Photoshop job, but it’s 100% real. It highlights just how diverse the human body can be when it's optimized for different tasks. Shaq was built to dominate the paint; Simone was built to defy gravity.
How high does she actually jump?
If you want to feel really unimpressed with your own vertical leap, consider this: Simone Biles can jump nearly twice her own height.
During her floor routines, sensors have measured her reaching heights of nearly 10 feet in the air. That’s the height of a regulation basketball rim. When she is at the apex of a "Biles II" (the triple-double), her entire body is soaring way above the heads of the judges.
Because she’s only 4'8", the visual of her being 10 feet in the air is even more jarring. It’s like watching a bouncy ball that just won’t come down.
Dealing with the "Swoledier" comments
Growing up, Biles wasn't always confident about her stature. She’s been open about being teased for her muscular build. People called her a "swoledier" because of her defined arms. For a while, she’d wear sweaters year-round just to hide her muscles.
It’s kind of wild to think that the greatest gymnast in history felt insecure about the very thing that made her great. But now? She leans into it. Her Instagram is full of "beach day" photos and gym shots where she proudly shows off the power that 4'8" frame carries.
Actionable insights: What we can learn from Simone
You don't have to be an Olympic gymnast to take something away from Biles' story. It's really about "functional" body types.
- Stop comparing your "stats" to the average. Biles is a "statistical anomaly" in terms of height, but that anomaly is exactly what allowed her to become a legend. If she were 5'10", she likely wouldn't be the GOAT of gymnastics.
- Focus on power-to-weight, not just weight. In fitness, we often obsess over the scale. Biles’ success comes from her incredible strength relative to her size. Focus on what your body can do rather than what it weighs.
- Own the "flaws." The things Biles was teased for—her height and her muscles—turned out to be her greatest assets.
If you're ever feeling "too" something—too short, too tall, too whatever—just remember that the most decorated gymnast in history is a 4'8" powerhouse who basically broke the sport because she didn't fit the "average" mold.
The next time you watch her compete, don't just look at the flips. Look at the height she gets. At 4 feet 8 inches, she’s proving every single day that being small doesn't mean you can't be the biggest presence in the room. Or the air.
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Next Steps for You:
If you're interested in the science behind her performance, look up the "Yurchenko double pike." It’s a vault so dangerous and difficult that for a long time, only men performed it. Watching a 4'8" woman nail it is the best way to see the "physics of height" in action. Also, check out her autobiography, Courage to Soar, if you want the full story on her journey from foster care to the Olympic podium.