'People are waiting for something bad to happen': Olympic gymnast Simone Biles on struggling with the pressures of being the best in the world, as she lands TIME cover

  • The 19-year-old Olympic hopeful is dubbed the 'Games Changer' on the latest cover of TIME magazine
  • She has won the all-around title at the World Championships for three years in a row, making her a favorite for Olympic gold

By Valerie Siebert For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:03 EST, 28 July 2016 | Updated: 16:58 EST, 28 July 2016

As a three-time World Champion, Simone Biles is expected by many to take home the gold in Rio this year.

The odds have swiftly turned the 19-year-old into a media darling, which is why she is the latest star to grace the cover of TIME magazine - and is branded in the headline as 'The Game Changer'.

She is so far ahead of the pack that even 2008 Olympic all-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin claims that the 4'8 Texan phenom is 'in a caliber with nobody else in the world'. 

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Starring role: Simone Biles, 19, stars as 'The Game Changer' on the latest cover of TIME magazine 

Starring role: Simone Biles, 19, stars as 'The Game Changer' on the latest cover of TIME magazine 

Legend in the making: In an interview with the publication, Simone discussed the pressures of going into the Olympic Games as a three-time World Champion

Legend in the making: In an interview with the publication, Simone discussed the pressures of going into the Olympic Games as a three-time World Champion

However, in an interview with TIME, Simone revealed that there is one serious downside to being the best in the world.

'I feel like it’s harder because everyone knows I’m the three-time world champion - it’s almost like people are waiting for something bad to happen,' she said. 'That kind of stresses me out a bit.'

And the pressure isn't just on Simone to win the individual all-around gold. She will also be expected to help defend the Team gold that the legendary Fierce Five won at the London 2012 Games. 

She will be joined in the task by the current Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas, her fellow Fierce Five teammate Aly Raisman, and two other Olympic debuts: Laurie Hernandez, 16, and Madison Kocian, 19.

All power: at 4'8. Simone is the shortest member of the entire US Olympic team heading to Rio 2016

All power: at 4'8. Simone is the shortest member of the entire US Olympic team heading to Rio 2016

In a class of her own: Simone was discovered in a Houston gym at the age of eight, and moved into the senior level in 2013

In a class of her own: Simone was discovered in a Houston gym at the age of eight, and moved into the senior level in 2013

In the new cover story, Simone discusses life being raised by her grandparents, who adopted her at five years old with her sister after their mother struggled with drugs for years.

Despite the past struggles, Simone claims that she does keep in contact with her biological mother.

'Sometimes if I get really, really deep in thought, I wonder if she feels bad about what happened and wishes she had done things differently,' she told the magazine. 'But it’s not my job to wonder about that. Those aren’t questions for me.'

Simone was eventually discovered by coach Aimee Boorman at a Houston gym when she was just eight years old. And, despite a bit of a rocky start when she first entered the senior level in 2013, she began to move up the ranks  

Serious competitor: Simone talked about being raised by her biological grandparents as a daughter after her grandmother struggled with drugs for years

Serious competitor: Simone talked about being raised by her biological grandparents as a daughter after her grandmother struggled with drugs for years

Teaming up: Simone will also be expected to help defend the team gold that the Fierce Five, led by Gabby Douglas (left), won at London 2012

Teaming up: Simone will also be expected to help defend the team gold that the Fierce Five, led by Gabby Douglas (left), won at London 2012

Making history: Past Olympic champions have been heaping praise on Simone, including Nastia Liukin who said she was 'in a caliber with nobody else in the world'.

Making history: Past Olympic champions have been heaping praise on Simone, including Nastia Liukin who said she was 'in a caliber with nobody else in the world'.

Within months, she blew past the competition at the World Championships and claimed her first titles - the all-around and the floor. 

Despite being, in fact, the shortest member of the entire US Olympic Team headed to Rio, Simone has become best known for her incredible power, which has seen her perform leaps and dismounts that not even her peers can imagine mastering. 

But it isn't just her current competition that she is leaving flabbergasted. Champions of previous Olympic Games are also lining up to heap praise on the tiny powerhouse.  

Shannon Miller, who won gold on the beam at the 1996 Olympics, even told TIME that it seemed that while many gymnasts have career 'peaks and valleys', Simone has 'blown that apart'. 

'She’s like, "You know what, I’m just going to hang out at the top, I’m good here."'  

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