Cristiano Ronaldo completed incredible feat against Man United but Simone Biles can beat him, says ex-Premier League manager
Simone Biles has been told she could jump twice as high as Cristiano Ronaldo after her incredible start to the Olympics this summer.
Biles led the United States to team gold on Tuesday after the women’s gymnastics team, overcoming her Tokyo 'twisties' agony in the process.
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And the 27-year-old did so in style, putting on a flawless display to continue her jaw-dropping record as the most decorated gymnast in history.
It was her fifth Olympic gold medal while talkSPORT guest and former Premier League manager Alan Pardew was left stunned by her floor routine.
In preparation for the Paris Games this summer at the 2024 US Olympic trials, she managed to jump 12 feet in the air despite being just 4ft8 - nearly jumping twice her own height.
Pardew said live on talkSPORT Breakfast alongside Alan Brazil: "She is a mega-star in America, massive. Her floor exercises are phenomenal, to see her running across that floor.
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"And she leaps! I don't know how she does it. You talk about Ronaldo, she is double the height that he could ever do.
"It is incredible, and obviously she is spinning and twisting, but a fantastic athlete and a bit of an icon in America, for sure."
While Biles might dominate gymnastics, in the world of football, Ronaldo reigns supreme in the air.
The Portugal international is an incredible athlete and recreated himself into a goalscoring machine up front in his latter years in Europe, changing his style from a dynamic winger.
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In doing so, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner managed to turn himself almost superhuman at times when he jumped to meet a header.
His hang time in the air is reminiscent of NBA legends like Michael Jordan and his highest-ever jump was recorded when he was at Real Madrid, scoring against his old club Manchester United in the Champions League in 2013.
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Real Madrid beat United 2-1 in the second leg in controversial circumstances after Nani was sent off for a high boot.
Ronaldo scored the winning goal with 20 minutes to go to make it 3-2 on aggregate and leave Sir Alex Ferguson seething.
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The first leg saw Ronaldo climb to 2.93 metres in the air - which is 9.6 feet.
So Pardew was right to say that Biles could clear Ronaldo in the air, as she managed to go nearly two and a half feet higher than the six-time Champions League winner.
The American legend now has 38 career medals (eight Olympic, 30 World Championship) and is only the fourth US female gymnast in history to compete in three Olympics.
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