Megan Rapinoe, Simone Biles Among Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients

United States women's national soccer team star Megan Rapinoe and Olympic all-around champion gymnast Simone Biles will both receive the Presidential medal of freedom next week.

The White House said in a statement that Rapinoe, Biles and the 15 other people who will be honored next week have overcome significant obstacles to achieve impressive accomplishments in the arts and sciences.

The ceremony will be held at the White House in Washington, D.C. on July 7.

It will mark a historic moment for Rapinoe and Biles, as they will be just the fifth and sixth female athletes or coaches to be honored.

The ceremony will cause Rapinoe to miss the USWNT's match against Jamaica on Thursday, but she will be back for the crucial match against Mexico on July 11.

Since 1963, when the Presidential Medal of Freedom was first instituted by President John F. Kennedy, it has only been received by a small number of people.

Rapinoe said that she got a call from the White House on June 23 about the honor. Rapinoe said she was told to hold onto the President before she heard the voice of Biden.

The 36-year-old USWNT member talked about how grateful she was to receive the highest civilian honor in the United States.

I was completely overwhelmed when I spoke to the president. All the women of the U.S. Women's National Team, from my family to current and former teammates, are deserving of a piece of this medal.

I am honored to have been chosen by President Biden to receive the award and I feel like I'm going to keep fighting for the freedom of everyone. "We are not free until we are all free."

Rapinoe and her USWNT teammates achieved equal pay for women in the new USWNT and US Men's National Team collective bargaining agreements.

Rapinoe spoke out about abortion rights for women last week after the Supreme Court overturned the case.

One of the greatest gymnasts of all time, Simone Biles, has advocated for a number of issues, including mental health and the support of sexual- assault victims.

In order to focus on and preserve her mental health, Simone Biles withdrew from multiple events, including the individual all-around, at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

She was at the forefront of the fight for the rights of the gymnasts who were sexually abused by Nassar.

She spoke for many of the victims when she testified against Nassar.

Rapinoe and Biles are two of the most decorated athletes in the history of their sport.

Rapinoe has won two Women's World Cup and an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT, while the 25-year-old is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, seven-time Olympic medalist and 25-time medalist at the world championships.