American gymnast Simone Biles has been honoured with the BBC Sports Personality of the Year's Lifetime Achievement award.
Biles, 24, is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, having won four Olympic gold medals and 19 World Championship titles. In 2018, she spoke candidly about being abused by team doctor Larry Nassar, who is now serving a life sentence in jail. She has also been praised for talking about her mental health struggles.
Biles said receiving the Lifetime Achievement award was an "unbelievable honour" and "truly humbling".
"When I see those names who have been honoured before me, I can hardly believe it," she said. Biles had been expected to win more golds at this summer's Tokyo Olympics, but she withdrew from five of her six finals, saying she had to focus on her mental health.
She explained she had the 'twisties' - a dangerous mental block in which gymnasts lose their orientation in the air. Biles later said she "should have quit way before Tokyo".
Accepting her award, Biles said: "2021 wasn't the year I was expecting. This summer, I had to take a step back from competition to recover from an invisible injury.
She added: "I'm so grateful to everyone in the UK who sent such supportive and loving messages to me at that time."
"What I will always treasure, more than any medal, is hearing how I may have helped someone feel a little better.I will carry on fighting for what I believe in, for sport to be a safer place for young people to grow and flourish, and I will continue to speak up about mental health."
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Biles spent much of her early years in and out of foster care before she was adopted by her maternal grandfather, Ron, and his second wife, Nellie. She grew up in Texas, and was introduced to gymnastics at the age of six on a field trip, starting her elite career eight years later in 2011.
Just two years later, in 2013, she won her first two world titles, adding eight more to her collection by the end of 2015. She made her Olympic debut at Rio 2016, where she won all four of her Olympic titles as well as a bronze medal. After a hiatus in 2017, nine more world titles followed in 2018 and 2019, and she was expected to win more golds at Tokyo 2020 - postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But after suffering the 'twisties' she withdrew from five of her six finals, though still won team silver and individual beam bronze. Since returning from the Olympics, Biles has been open about having therapy and is touring America with other members of the United States' gymnastics team, but has not yet decided if she will return to competition.
Meanwhile BBC Sports Personality of the Year will take place tonight, with viewers voting to crown one of 2021's biggest sports stars.
A shortlist of six nominees has been revealed for the top prize, including Emma Raducanu, Raheem Sterling, Sarah Storey, Adam Peaty, Tom Daley and Tyson Fury. Throughout the night, awards will be presented to Team of the Year, Young Sports Personality of the Year and Unsung Hero among others.
Lewis Hamilton won Sports Personality of the Year in 2020 after equalling Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles.
Liverpool FC won Team of the Year following their Premier League title win for the 2019/20 season, which in turn won Jurgen Klopp Coach of the Year.
MMA fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov won World Sports Star of the Year, and Captain Sir Tom Moore won the Helen Rollason Award for his work fundraising for the NHS. The Unsung Hero award was posthumously won by Sgt Matt Ratana, the head coach at East Grinstead Rugby Club who was killed while on duty for The Met Police in September 2020.
Tobias Meller was the winner of the Young Unsung Hero award for raising £150,000 for charity after he walked the equivalent of two marathons despite not being able to walk or stand unaided. Young Sport Personality of the Year went to diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, while Marcus Rashford won the Expert Panel Special Award for his work campaigning against child food poverty.