2024 Olympics: Simone Biles Leads Team USA to Gold in Paris Gymnastics Final
Simone Biles is flipping around criticism against gymnasts.
After her 2024 Olympics win, the 27-year-old seemingly called out her former teammate MyKayla Skinner‘s disparaging remarks about how gymnasts these days “don’t work as hard” as they used to.
Sharing photos of herself and Paris Summer Games teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera celebrating their gold medal victory in the women’s gymnastics team final, Simone wrote on Instagram July 30, “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions.”
The post comes weeks after MyKayla, who competed alongside Simone at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, sparked controversy with her reaction to the gymnastics trials for Team USA, saying 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.”
“A lot of girls don’t work as hard,” she continued at the time. “The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
In her controversial video, MyKayla, 27, suggested U.S. Center for SafeSport, a non-profit created in order to help end abuse in athletics, was part of the reason for this perceived lack of effort.
“Like, coaches can’t get on athletes and they have to be really careful what they say,” she said. “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, I feel like, a little aggressive and a little intense.”
MyKayla later issued an apology after intense online backlash, clarifying that her comments were “misinterpreted or misunderstood.”
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“A lot of the stuff that I was talking about wasn’t always necessarily about the current team,” she said in a July 3 video on her Instagram Stories, “because I love and support all the girls that made it and I’m so proud of them.”
In a written statement shared three days later, the retired gymnast said it was “not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work.”
“Your hard work and dedication has paid off,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “and I congratulate each and every one of you.”
To see all the action from Simone and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics, keep reading…
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Golden Performance
Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, Simone Biles, Jade Carey and Suni Lee celebrated after winning gold.
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Gold Zone
The Team USA gymnasts had some fun with their medals on the podium after winning the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Team Final.
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Victory Lap
Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles waved the national flag around the arena to celebrate their win.
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They Did It!
The team was all smiles after hearing they had won the gold.
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Strut Your Stuff
Biles looked confident as she performed her floor routine.
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Reaching New Heights
Lee shined during her uneven bars routine.
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Winning Smile
Biles reacts after finishing her routine on the uneven bars.
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Milestone Celebration
Chiles and Biles enjoyed a sweet moment together during the competition.
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Medal-Worthy
Biles soared during the vault competition.
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Let’s Go!
Chiles had the best reaction after finishing her routine on the uneven bars.
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Jade’s Return
After falling during her floor routine at qualifiers, Carey returned to the arena for the team finals, where she dominated the vault competition.
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Olympic Routine
Lee delivered a jaw-dropping floor routine for Team USA.
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Mid-Air Moment
It was another strong performance from Biles on the uneven bars.
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Moving Moment
After completing her incredible floor routine, Chiles broke down in tears.
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Balancing Act
Biles hit the balance beam in style.
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Quick Recovery
Jordan Chiles fell while competing on the balance beam, but battled back to finish her routine.
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No. 1 Fans
The Olympian’s husband Jonathan Owens, who took a break from NFL training camp to fly to Paris, and mom Nellie Biles cheered her on in the crowd.
Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics daily on NBC and Peacock until the summer games end with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
