Simone Biles is 4 feet 8 inches (1.4 meters) tall, which is about 4 inches (10 cm) below the average height of a female gymnast—and about 7 inches less than the average American woman, who stands about 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 meters).
Why are gymnasts this size? Because smaller frames offer such advantages as a better power-to-weight ratio and a lower moment of inertia. The latter allows gymnasts to perform swings and rotations at a greater speed and with more ease. As routines have become more complex, the average height of a female gymnast has decreased. Biles’s smaller-than-average stature has helped her execute some of the toughest moves in the sport. Notably, in 2021 she became the first female gymnast to land the most difficult vault, the Yurchenko double pike, during a competition.