Which country does Simone Biles call her second home?

Simone Biles calls Belize her second home.

Biles has a longstanding family connection to Belize through her adoptive mother, Nellie Biles, who is Belizean. Biles holds Belizean citizenship and has visited the country repeatedly, helping explain why she describes it not merely as a favorite vacation destination but as her “second home.” She was born in the United States and represents the United States in international gymnastics.

The phrase can cause a common mix-up: Belize is part of Biles’s family and personal identity, but it is not the country she competes for athletically. At the Olympics and world championships, she represents the United States. Her Belizean connection is familial and cultural rather than a change in her sporting nationality.

Belize is a country on the Caribbean coast of Central America, bordered by Mexico and Guatemala. Biles’s public affection for the country became especially visible after the 2016 Rio Olympics, when she and her teammates discussed visiting Belize to celebrate their success. Her connection has continued through later family trips and public appearances.