Inside Simone Biles' close-knit relationship with lookalike sister Adria Biles

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    Simone Biles is set to take home gold for Team USA at the Paris Olympics, and it goes without saying she will be supported by all her family - not just her husband Jonathan Owens.

    The gymnast is particularly close with her little sister Adria, who is frequently mistaken for being her twin. In fact, early on Simone took on a more motherly role with her sister as they spent three years in the foster care system early on.

    Simone said of the time: "I wanted to take care of Adria obviously because she was the baby. I just felt like I needed to look out for her because if family doesn't look out for you, who's going to?"

    In fact, born January 27 1999, Adria is two years younger than 27-year-old Simone. The sisters were later adopted by their grandparents - and both showed an interest in gymnastics. Simone and Adria also have two other siblings, Tevin and Ashley, who were adopted by Ronald's sister and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.

    Gymnastic duo

    Like her older sister, Adria showed a talent for gymnastics early on. She took after her sister, practicing gymnastics from the age of nine, and by 2015 she was competing at a Level 9 junior elite level.

    She said of Simone: "My sister has always been fearless," adding: "When we were little kids, we'd stand on a railing on the second floor of our house, then jump off onto the couch down below on the first floor. She'd go first, and I'd follow. Nothing scared her."

    Adria was a competing gymnast for a decade, before leaving the sport in 2016. Since then, she's taken up dancing, working with Shooting Stars, the professional dance team of the Houston Astros baseball team

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    Foster care and adoption

    Simone and her little sister were placed in foster care when the eldest was just three years old. Their biological mom, Shannon, was unable to take care of them due to drug and alcohol addiction. 

    The duo were not split up during their time in the system, where they spent three years before their grandparents, Ronald and Nellie, officially adopted them. To this day, Simone refers to them as her parents.

    Simone's biggest fan

    Adria is arguably Simone's biggest fan - and when things have got tough, she's been more than happy to leap to her defense. 

    When Simone had to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics due to the "twisties", she said of her sister: "Thank you for being an inspiration to me and to everyone around you, thank you for making people feel valid about their feelings, thank you for being you and thank you for being the best big sister in the world."

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    Adria was even a bridesmaid at Simone's wedding to Jonathan Owens, attending with her girlfriend Janae. She would later post on Instagram: "Can not express how proud i am of you guys, adding: "I just love y’all so much! congrats to the newlyweds."

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