Fans often wonder when Simone Biles started gymnastics, since many athletes in the sport begin at a young age. As you might guess, Biles started gymnastics fairly young, training throughout her childhood before becoming the tour-de-force Olympic gold medalist she is today. Viewers who watched Simone Biles Rising, the Netflix docuseries about the gymnast, know that she was adopted by her grandfather and his wife due to a difficult situation involving her mother and father. Here's what we know so far about how Biles started her gymnastics career.

Simone Biles began gymnastics when she attended Bannon's Gymnastix on a daycare field trip at age 6. She began imitating other gymnasts in the class and was discovered by coach Aimee Boorman.

That’s how Biles first got involved in the sport, according to her profile on USA Gymnastics’ official website. Her bio also reveals that the gym, currently based in Houston, Texas, sent a letter asking her to participate in tumbling or gymnastics classes.

According to Boorman in an interview with Olympics.com, "Biles walked into the gym and had gymnastics pretty much down." She says her brother's gymnast taught her how to do a back handflop in their backyard, despite her having no formal gymnastics training. At this young age, "Biles would just watch people do skills and go try it herself." Boorman tells of a story in which Biles saw a cheerleader do a back tuck, said she could do it, and then did the skill herself.