Simone Biles and the US women’s gymnastics team, nicknamed the ‘Golden Girls’, have clinched gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but their victory has been overshadowed by a public spat with a former teammate. Following their triumph, Biles posted a photo on Instagram with the caption ‘lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions’, a pointed response to earlier criticism from ex-teammate MyKayla Skinner.The controversy stems from comments Skinner made in June, where she claimed that ‘besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be’ and that ‘the girls just don’t have the work ethic [that gymnasts of her time once did]’. These remarks, initially made in a YouTube video that has since been deleted, sparked significant backlash from the gymnastics community.Biles’ Instagram post, which garnered over 2.5 million likes, was widely interpreted as a clever comeback. Her teammates, including Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles, showed support for Biles’ response. Former Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney also weighed in, commenting, ‘It doesn’t get more iconic than this.. She f’d around n found out fr’.Skinner has since apologized for her comments, stating, ‘It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work’. However, Biles seemed unimpressed by the apology, posting on social media platform Threads, ‘not everyone needs a mic and a platform’.The gold medal marks Biles’ fifth Olympic gold and eighth overall, cementing her status as the most decorated American gymnast in history. At 27, she is also the oldest American woman to win an Olympic medal in gymnastics in 76 years. Looking ahead, Biles is set to compete in the individual all-around finals on Thursday, where she has the opportunity to add to her impressive medal tally.
Key points
- Simone Biles led the US women’s gymnastics team to gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
- Biles responded to criticism from former teammate MyKayla Skinner with a sarcastic Instagram post.
- The controversy has sparked widespread reaction in the gymnastics community.
- Biles, at 27, is now the most decorated American gymnast and the oldest to win an Olympic medal in 76 years.
Contradictions👾While most sources report that Biles’ Instagram post was a direct response to Skinner’s criticism, the Recorder & Times article attributes the comments to a ‘Katelyn Skinner’ rather than ‘MyKayla Skinner’, which appears to be an error.
