Olympian Simone Biles fired back at her haters, which seemingly included former teammate MyKayla Skinner, after leading the women’s gymnastics team to gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics and becoming the most decorated gymnast in US history.
“lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇
,” the 27-year-old athlete captioned an Instagram post on Tuesday.
She shared a carousel of photos of herself and teammates Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles celebrating following their victory, which earned Biles her fifth gold medal.
Biles’ caption appeared to take aim at Skinner’s previous comments about the Team USA gymnasts in a since-deleted YouTube video.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic,” Skinner said earlier this month.
Simone Biles, pictured in the middle at the 2024 Olympics on Tuesday, spoke out after leading her team to gold.Getty Images
“lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇,” Biles, seen here competing on the uneven bars Tuesday, captioned a carousel on Instagram following the victory.Getty Images
The former gymnast, who retired after winning a silver medal on the vault at the Tokyo Olympics, later walked back her remarks.
“It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or take away from their hard work,” Skinner posted on Instagram July 6. “Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you.”
Biles made history as she won her eighth Olympic medal since first participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She was declared the most decorated gymnast in US history, surpassing retired gymnast Shannon Miller, now 47, who obtained seven medals while participating in the 1992 and 1996 summer games.
The 27-year-old gymnast, seen here competing on the balance beam Tuesday, was all smiles while celebrating alongside her teammates in the pics.Getty Images
On Tuesday, Biles, pictured above, also reached a milestone as she became the most decorated gymnast in US history.Getty Images
“We all knew she could do it,” US gymnastics technical lead Chellsie Memmel told reporters after the competition, per People.
“That wasn’t ever a question in my mind that she could do it and it continues to just solidify her place as the greatest gymnast of all time.”
The US team beat Italy and Brazil, who took home silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Biles will now prepare to compete in the individual all-around finals, which kicks off on Aug. 1.
She’ll have the opportunity to take home up to four more medals as she competes with several others, including her teammate Lee, who struck gold in Tokyo.
She competed alongside teammates Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles on Tuesday.Getty Images
Now, Biles and Lee will compete in the individual all-around finals.Getty Images
Biles previously referred to the 2024 Olympics as the “redemption tour” for the US women’s team after they won silver while competing in Tokyo in 2021.
“I feel like we all have more to give and our Tokyo performances weren’t the best,” Biles told reporters at the Olympic trials in Minneapolis, per NBC. “We weren’t under the best circumstances, either, but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes.”
While in Japan, Biles withdrew mid-competition amid a case of the “twisties” to prioritize her mental health.
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