A gymnast who keeps a rosary in her bag won three Olympic gold medals last week. The American Simone Biles, 19, emerged as a star of Rio after winning events including the all-round women’s gymnastics individual competition – regarded as the sport’s ultimate prize. Her performances were hailed as almost flawless. After the second final ended Biles cried through laughter as she embraced her long-time coach, Aimee Boorman, and fellow competitor, Aly Raisman, who won silver. Biles said: “Aimee and Aly told me I’d done it and when that hits you, you can’t stop the emotions.” In an interview with US Magazine, she revealed that she carried a white rosary in her gym bag. “My mum, Nellie, got me a rosary at church,” she said. “I don’t use it to pray before a competition. I’ll just pray normally to myself, but it’s there just in case.” Biles’s mother had problems with drugs and alcohol and struggled to care for her and her sibling. She and her sister were adopted by her grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles, when she was five. She grew up in Texas. Biles was introduced to gymnastics aged six. Even before then, her grandmother Nellie said, “she always had loved bouncing on furniture in the house”. Biles is a Sunday Mass-goer. When she travels she sometimes takes with her a statue of St Sebastian, the patron saint of athletes. She also lights candles to the saint before big events. Biles has dominated women’s gymnastics for the last three years. She has already won 10 World Championship medals and is the most decorated US female gymnast in the competition’s history.