Simone Biles is the GOAT of gymnastics — she is now the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time, male or female. After a tough 2020 Tokyo Olympics that saw Biles withdraw from the competition due to a severe case of the ‘twisties’, she has bounced back better than ever this year to already help lead her team to a gold medal in the team competition.
But not everyone is happy for the girls. Just like in 2020, when critics online decided to shame Simone Biles for pulling out of the competition because she was ‘unpatriotic’ or ‘selfish,’ another surprising critic has voiced their opinion on Team USA. And Biles, being the good teammate that she is, didn’t take that lightly.
Biles vs. MyKayla Skinner
Simone Biles took to Instagram immediately after her Team USA won the gold medal in France for the third time in the last four Olympic visits for herself and teammates, sharing a heartwarming photo of her with the other girls holding their medals. But, what really caught everyone’s attention was the caption — ‘lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions’. Everyone took to social media, especially Instagram, to figure out what Simone Biles was referring to. Was it an inside joke, or was she referring to the critics back in 2020? It seems as though she was referencing a comment made by her former Team USA mate, MyKayla Skinner.
Skinner made a comment in the past video before the USA won stating that ‘obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.’ As if that wasn’t something rude and condescending to say, but she was completely wrong in her analysis, as they went on to win the gold medal in the Olympics. You can’t get much better than that.
Previous teammates, fans, friends, and current teammates all took to Simone Biles’ Instagram to share their love and appreciation via comments and likes. MyKala Maroney commented on Biles’ picture, saying, ‘It feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name.’ If that wasn’t cheeky enough, Skinner ended up blocking Biles and Jordan Chiles, another Team USA athlete, the day after the post.
Team USA
Simone Biles has led the team to an incredible comeback, coupled with athletes Suni Lee, Chiles, and Andrade. Lee earned the bronze medal in an all-around competition, paired with Andrade’s silver and Biles’ gold. Suni Lee also has the all-around final to look forward to, alongside Simone Biles, to see if the US athletes can bring home some more medals.
One of the big inspirational stories hailing from the team, besides Biles’ comeback, is Lee. She has faced a host of health issues, such as intense kidney problems, for the last year, keeping her out of the gym and training for months at a time. Her illness caused her to gain 45 pounds – for an athlete who needs to be lean and strong, especially for a woman who is only 5’0″, this was debilitating. Her recovery, return to training, and dominance at the Olympics is one of the best stories of the year.
Who is MyKala Maroney?
For those who didn’t watch gymnastics in years past, MyKayla Maroney was a US artistic gymnast on the national team between 2010-2014. She won the silver medal in the vault at the 2012 London Olympics and helped Team USA win the gold medal in the team competition in the same Olympic Games. However, now Maroney will be known to the current generation as a bitter ex-athlete who criticized the winning women’s gymnastics team. Hopefully her public persona can recover from this online fight.
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