Why was Simone Biles wearing a goat necklace, and what does GOAT even mean?

Bet you never expected to see a silver goat next to an Olympic gold medal.

(NEXSTAR) — When Simone Biles took the floor during Thursday's all-around competition in women's gymnastics at the Paris Olympics, she was arguably already among the greatest in her sport.

But then she completed the highest-scoring performance of the day — 59.131, just over a point ahead of Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade — propelling her to her sixth Olympic gold medal. That's the most ever won by an American gymnast, man or woman, breaking a 120-year-old record.

Shortly after leaving the floor and through the medal ceremony, Biles was seen wearing a silver necklace, complete with a shimmering goat pendant.

Yes, you read that right: next to Biles' record-setting gold medal was a silver farm animal.

Why, you may ask? Because, in the sports world, Biles has earned herself "GOAT" status.

GOAT, or "Greatest of All Time," has been used to describe athletes across sports: 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Tiger Woods, the NBA's Michael Jordan and LeBron James, MLB's Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt, skateboarding's Tony Hawk, swimming's Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps.

The list can go on and on, and isn't limited to athletes. Serving to describe the greats, it can be extended to film and TV, civil rights activists, politicians, musicians, or even your everyday life.

The general consensus, though, is that a GOAT is the greatest at their thing in their lifetime.

For Biles, it's hard not to look at the stat line and consider her among the greatest. For 11 years, she has been unbeaten in all-around at meets she started and finished into the finals. That's 33 competitions, with Thursday's being No. 34.

She shattered a 120-year-old record and became the first woman to claim multiple Olympic all-around golds since Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia went back-to-back in 1964 and 1968.

At six gold medals, Biles is tied for fifth-most among American Olympians alongside swimmers Ryan Lochte and Amy Van Dyken. Overall, Biles now has nine Olympic medals, making her the seventh woman with at least that many.

She's been dazzling on the world stage for years, even before wearing the GOAT necklace on Thursday. In 2019, Biles wore a goat-themed leotard during training at the national championships. Following the Olympics, she'll continue on her "Gold Over America Tour" (GOAT, if you prefer acronyms) alongside fellow U.S. gymnasts Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, and Stephen Nedoroscik (who may have secured GOAT status for himself in the Paris Olympics).

“My GOAT necklace is just kind of an ode, because the people love it and some people hate it,” Biles said Thursday. “So, it’s like the best of both worlds. I was like, ‘OK, if it goes well, we’ll wear the GOAT necklace.’ I know people will go crazy over it but at the end of the day it is crazy that I am in the conversation of ‘Greatest of all athletes’ because I just still think, ‘I’m Simone Biles from Spring, Texas who loves to flip.’”

This GOAT isn't done yet in these Olympics: Biles has three event finals later in the Games.

You also have plenty of time to see other GOATs at work in Paris: take for example Katie Ledecky, who earned her 12th Olympic medal on Thursday, has another event on Saturday in which she is heavily favored to win her fourth consecutive Olympic gold. There's also Kevin Durant, who could become the first male athlete to win four gold medals in any team sport if Team USA can come out on top in men's basketball. You may even catch another glimpse or two of a non-athlete GOAT, Snoop Dogg, in the stands as he continues his role as a roving correspondent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.