Athletes with connections to Hampton Roads have been seen representing their respective countries at the Olympics in Paris the past two weeks.
Most of those athletes are competing in the events themselves, but the Norfolk State football team has its own unique connection to this year’s Games.
Spartans wide receiver Taron Biles-Walker is a half-brother of American star gymnast Simone Biles.
Biles-Walker and Biles share the same mother, Shannon Biles, and NSU’s redshirt sophomore said his Olympian sister is one of several siblings he has.
“I ain’t gonna lie … there’s too many to count,” Biles-Walker said. “Way too many. It’s a lot.”
Biles has added to her already impressive career medal count this year by winning gold in team, all-around and vault competitions in Paris. Those victories brought her career Olympic gold medal count to seven. A silver medal in the floor exercise brought her total Olympic medal count to 12.
“She’s one of the greatest ever,” Biles-Walker said.
Biles-Walker admitted he hadn’t been able to watch much of her competition since the Olympics conflicts with Norfolk State’s fall camp. Despite being “locked in” on football, he’s still proud of his sibling.
“Honestly, I haven’t talked to her in a while, but I’m just proud of what she’s doing,” Biles-Walker said.
Still, his sister’s success has inspired him on and off the field and Biles-Walker knows the same is the case for people, athletes or not, across the U.S. and arguably the world.
“I feel like it’ll inspire anybody because she’s doing great things,” Biles-Walker said. “… It inspires not only me, but I know she inspires a lot of people, other people too, that don’t even know her.”
Biles-Walker is entering his second season at Norfolk State. The Columbus, Ohio, native transferred to NSU before last season after spending his freshman year at Muskingum University, a Division III program.
Last season, he played in 10 games and started one for the Spartans, totaling 53 receiving yards on four catches. Most of his impact came on special teams, where he returned nine kickoffs for a total of 240 yards.
Coming into this season, Biles-Walker is confident in his abilities and has a shot at carving out a bigger role in a deep Norfolk State wide receiver room if he continues to have a good camp.
“I know in the off-season, I was doing a lot of training, and training for me builds confidence,” Biles-Walker said. “So I’m just very confident out here now. I feel like I’m gonna make a lot of plays this year for our team.”
Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, [email protected]
