Rio 2016: Simone Biles was calming tearful mother down before gold-medal winning performance

'Mom, I'm ready'

Biles produced a brilliant display to take her second gold of the Games (Getty)

Simone Biles is remarkable for more than just her athletic talent. She is equally extraordinary for her ability to stay focused under incredible pressure.

Biles has emerged as one of the most celebrated names from Rio. Her unmatched gymnastic flair made her performance one of the most highly anticipated - not that any of this seemed to weigh heavy on her.

The US gymnastic 'Final Five' became known for their relaxed demeanour and infectious laughter, to the point where their national coordinator had to implore the team to be “more serious”. There is no other athletic squad who appear to have had so much fun with such great expectation hanging over their heads.

But before hitting the floor on Thursday to secure her next gold medal, her mother revealed Biles had to calm her down as she tried to give her daughter a teary pep talk.

According to the New York Times, Nellie Biles was panicking over the pressure placed over her daughter to storm to victory, leaving Biles to have to calm her down.

“Mom,” she replied, “I’m ready.”

There was only one moment when Biles cracked, and it was after being announced as “the Olympic champion 2016,” a declaration that saw her burst into tears.

For her part, Biles wanted to make a very clear distinction about what her success ultimately means.

“It's amazing to be recognised for all of this success, (but) I'm not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, I'm the first Simone Biles,” she told journalists after collecting herself.

“I'm just the same Simone. I just have two Olympic gold medals now. I feel like I did my job tonight.”