25-year-old Simone Biles has achieved great heights in her career. With 32 Olympic and World Championship medals, she is the youngest person to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The 4-foot-8-inch gymnast became a household name back in 2016 and has continued to impress.

But it seems not everybody can recognize her, and her short stature has caused a few to mistake her for a minor!

Simone Biles on her way back from the White House

On Thursday, Simone Biles made her way to meet the President in Washington, D.C., and receive the nation’s highest civilian honor. She’s one of six female sportspersons to receive the award alongside USWNT star Megan Rapinoe. Biles was in disbelief throughout the ceremony.

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Though, flying back from Washington also came with a pretty bizarre incident. On her Instagram story, Biles shared a clip of her on the plane captioned, “not the flight attendant trying to give me a coloring book when I board…” That’s right. Because of her height, the gymnastics GOAT was hilariously mistaken for a young kid.

“I said ‘no I’m good, I’m 25.’” the caption continued. At least they redeemed themselves by offering a drink. She posted a clip holding a full plastic glass. “the other flight attendant gave me a mimosa so we’re in the clear.” However, this too came with “she did ask if I was old enough to drink”.

“I’m Shocked”- Simone Biles in Total Disbelief After Receiving Medal of Freedom From US President Joe Biden

The Olympic champion may be mistaken for a much younger person, but her petite build gives her an enormous advantage on the gymnastics mat.

Biles’ height is helpful in gymnastics

Even among her teammates at Rio, none of the girls in the Final Five stood taller than 5 feet 2 inches. At the Tokyo Olympics, Jordan Chiles was the tallest gymnast on Team USA at 5 feet 5 inches. So why are female gymnasts so short?

Shorter heights are more advantageous in the sport. According to the BBC, being small helps with rotational skills like somersaults by giving them a lower moment of inertia. It also helps achieve a high strength-to-weight ratio.

So naturally, women with smaller frames tend to perform better in the sport. According to author David Epstein, the average height of an elite female gymnast has gone down from an average of 5-foot-3 to 4-foot-9 over the last 30 years. Biles’ short stature, along with her impeccable skills, are the reasons she has four moves named after her.

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