SIMONE BILES ON FIRST ALL-BLACK OLYMPIC GYMNASTICS PODIUM: “WE KNEW THE IMPACT IT WOULD MAKE." - EXCLUSIVE

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Superstar U.S. gymnast Simone Biles is used to breaking barriers.

Monday (5 August) at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, she had help from two of her friends: Brazilian Rebeca Andrade and teammate Jordan Chiles.

Andrade, Biles and Chiles captured gold, silver and bronze in the women’s floor final. It was the first Olympic gymnastics podium with three Black women.

“As soon as we were standing there, me and Jordan looked at each other,” Biles told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview. “We were kind of all cherishing that together because we knew how special it would be, and we knew the impact that it would make on all the little girls around the world that are trying to do what we’re doing, just for them to know that it’s possible.

“It’s setting those standards, paving the way,” she continued, “It’s like, we did it. We’re so excited because this doesn’t happen, so we’re so excited because this doesn’t happen.”

Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama also saluted the three women.

"I’m still not over this beautiful moment of sisterhood and sportsmanship! You can just feel the love shining through these ladies. Congrats Rebeca, Jordan and Simone!" she said in a post on Twitter.

The podium also represented 20 Olympic medals with Biles owning 11, Andrade six and Chiles three.

Both Americans have long espoused their respect for Andrade, the 25-year-old who has overcome three ACL tears in 2015, 2017 and 2019 to become her nation’s most decorated Olympian ever.

Biles and Chiles bowed to Andrade as she stepped onto the podium, a gesture Biles says her younger self might have expected.

“She would probably laugh and be like, ‘You’re so ridiculous,’” she said. “But that is the most Simone and Jordan thing you guys could ever have done, so she would be very happy that the sportsmanship was there.”

- Scott Bregman

THEN & NOW | SAME SMILE | SIMONE BILES

 

TEAM USA IS ON 🔥 | #PARISOLYMPICS

 

SIMONE BILES DESTROYS EX-USA TEAM-MATE WITH SIX-WORD RESPONSE TO OLYMPIC TEAM CRITICISM

Simone Biles helped lead the US to gymnastics gold

Simone Biles delivered the perfect response on social media after helping the USA win gold in light of criticism from former team-mate MyKayla Skinner, who questioned the team.

Simone Biles has mocked former US team-mate MyKayla Skinner's "work ethic" criticism after winning Olympic gold in the women’s gymnastics.

Biles furthered her legacy and is now the most decorated American gymnast in the history of the Olympics with eight medals. She led the US team, which also included Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee and Hezly Rivera, to victory in the team gymnastics final on Tuesday.

Prior to the games beginning in Paris Skinner, who had claimed silver in the vault final in Tokyo three years ago, took aim at the lack of quality in the US team once you looked past Biles. She also bemoaned the effort being put in by the current crop of stars - only for them to win gold.

She said in a YouTube video: "Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be. I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.

"A lot of girls don’t work as hard. It’s hard too because of SafeSport. Coaches can’t get on athletes which in some ways is really good but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be… a little aggressive, a little intense."

Biles celebrated her gold on her Instagram and put up a post of her and her team-mates with their medals before creating a caption that clearly had Skinner's comments in mind. She wrote: "Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions."

Skinner has since u-turned on her criticism and claim she was drawing comparisons between the current team and the class of 2021, who were led by the controversial coaching regime of gymnastics coach Marta Karolyi.

Mykayla Skinner's comments about the current squad have come back to haunt her

She said: "Upon reflection, I was comparing the ‘Marta Era’ to the current era. I am coming to terms that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Marta that perhaps led to my hurtful comments. I take full responsibility for what I said and deeply apologise."

America, who took their oldest ever team to the Olympics, were able to make amends for coming up short in Japan with Biles admitting that was a huge motivation. “I think we all had something to prove from Tokyo and tonight we did just that," she said.

The US victory was Biles' 38th career gold medal across the Olympics and world championships - further extending her record as the most decorated gymnast in history.

- Samuel Meade, Sports Brand Writer

RECORD-BREAKER BILES WINS SIXTH ALL-ROUND WORLD TITLE

Reuters 

American Simone Biles won her sixth all-around title at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships on Friday to become the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport.

Biles posted a total of 58.399 after a stellar performance on the vault before she kept up the pressure on the bars before excelling on the beam and despite a stumble on the floor the American nailed her tumbling routine to triumph.

Biles, who won her first all-around world title as a 16-year-old in Antwerp a decade ago, has claimed a total of 27 world medals -- including 21 golds -- having also led the U.S. women's team to a seventh consecutive title on Wednesday.

She has also surpassed Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo's record of 33 medals in total at the Olympics and world championships.

GYMNASTICS BILES TOPS COMPETITION IN FIRST OUTING SINCE TOKYO

USA TODAY Sports 

Simone Biles made a triumphant return to gymnastics on Saturday in suburban Chicago, eclipsing the field by an enormous margin in her first competitive event since the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist dazzled fans with her sky-high tumbling and a double-flipping vault so difficult that it has never been performed by another female gymnast.

The sold-out crowd, including many young, hopeful gymnasts, erupted in deafening cheers every time Biles took the podium, and those did not go unnoticed by the 26-year-old.

SIMONE BILES TO RETURN TO COMPETITION IN AUGUST AFTER TWO-YEAR HIATUS

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Four times Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles will return to competition in early August at the U.S. Classic in Chicago, USA Gymnastics said on Wednesday, in what will be her first event since the Tokyo Games in 2021.

The 26-year-old will take part in the single-day event on Aug. 5 having been out of action for the past two years following her withdrawal from several events in Tokyo.

BBC: SIMONE BILES WINS BBC PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

American gymnast, Simone Biles, has won 2016 BBC Sports Overseas Personality of the Year...