Olympians Simone Biles and Megan Rapinoe receive Presidential Medal of Honor

President Joe Biden awarded Olympians Simone Biles and Megan Rapinoe the Presidential Medal of Freedom In a ceremony on Thursday. The award is the highest honor bestowed upon a private citizen. At 25 years old, Simone made history as the youngest person to ever receive the medal.

“Today, she adds to her medal count,” Biden said as he introduced Biles, a former foster child whose 32 Olympic and World Championship medals make her the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history.

“I don’t know how you’re going to find room,” (for another medal) Biden joked.

The president praised Biles not only for her athletic achievements but for being a “prominent advocate for athletes’ mental health and safety, children in the foster care system, and victims of sexual assault.”

The 36-year-old Rapinoe, who won Olympic gold with the U.S. in 2012, is the first soccer player to receive the honor. President Biden lauded Rapinoe her for being a leading force in equal pay in sports.

Rapinoe wore a white suit with the initials of WNBA star Brittney Griner embroidered on the lapel.

Just prior to the White House ceremony, Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Moscow court. “The most important part of today,” Rapinoe wrote in an Instagram post.

The 2019 Ballon d’Or winner praised social activist and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and tennis legend Billie Jean King for their contributions to the field of racial and gender equality.

“I feel like I’m not here without any of you,” she said on Friday at an emotional news conference, in which she celebrated her team mates and former national team players alike.

She also spoke glowingly about fellow Olympia Biles saying: “If I could be Simone Biles’ red carpet that she can walk across, I would do that.”