Saturday, 28 September 2024
Saturday, 28 September 2024
The career of Simone Biles, who will become the third most-decorated female gymnast with 10 Olympic medals if she vaults her way to the medal podium once again on Saturday as expected, is celebrated as a pinnacle of athletic achievement.
She is already the most decorated female gymnast in US history. She has already silenced critics with a comeback that is the stuff of New York Times profiles.
And her response to a post on the social medium X (formerly Twitter) shows she has a gold medal in sass. Musician Ricky Davila posted her pictures with medals from Paris, with the caption: “Simone Biles being the GOAT, winning Gold medals and dominating gymnastics is her black job.”
Biles posted back: "I love my black job."
It was seen as a smash on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's statement about Hispanic migrants taking "Black jobs" in the US.
Trump's comment, made during the presidential debate with Joe Biden and iterated in an interview at a convention of Black journalists, has been widely criticised for perpetuating racial stereotypes in order to win votes.
Biles is no stranger to controversies. Behind the glittering achievements, her journey has been marked by many spats. She has won them all.
Here are five more gold medals to Simone Biles, from us.
‘Lazy Olympic champions’: Gold for hitting back with style
If you thought gymnasts only competed on the floor, think again. The most riveting rivalry in recent gymnastics history involves Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner.
Skinner wasn’t thrilled when Biles’ star power seemed to eclipse her own Olympic journey. Skinner's frustration? That Biles’ withdrawal from several events might have stolen her thunder.
After this year’s trials for the US Olympics team, Skinner posted a video seemingly calling the present team not hard-enough competitors and not dedicated enough. After the video prompted a furore, Skinner first said her remarks had been misunderstood, then apologised.
After she led the US to a team gold – its third time in the last four Olympics – Biles posted a picture of the team on her Instagram. It had a six-word caption that showed she had not forgotten Skinner’s jab. The caption just said: “Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions”.
Gold in the battle for mental health
Biles's decision to prioritise her mental health over competing at the Tokyo Olympics was met with mixed reactions. Many praised her for breaking the silence around mental health in sports. But there was backlash too.
“I think it reflects pretty poorly on our sort of therapeutic society that we try to praise people, not for moments of strength, not for moments of heroism, but for their weakest moments,” a certain J.D. Vance had told Fox News in 2021.
Vance was running for the US Senate then. Now, he is Trump’s running mate.
Biles, the champion she is, gets a gold from us for not letting such weak comments test her strength.
The Larry Nassar nightmare: Gold for speaking out
Simone Biles is a survivor of the sexual abuse of Larry Nassar, who was the team doctor of the US women's national gymnastics team.
Nassar, a serial child rapist, was jailed for more than life in 2017 for exploiting and sexually assaulting hundreds of young athletes.
Biles, as one of the survivors, became a vocal critic of USA Gymnastics and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee for their mishandling of the largest sexual abuse scandal in sports history.
Her testimony before Congress in September 2021 was a powerful call for accountability and reform.
Gold for being a branding boss
Simone Biles isn’t just a gymnastics icon; she’s a brand. In 2020, she launched her own line of activewear in collaboration with Athleta.
Her high-profile endorsements have shown that she can flip from the gym to the boardroom.
She has proven that gymnasts can be glamorous, aware, and savvy.
Gold for proving that age is just a number
At 27, Biles is defying the gymnastics age curve. The sport usually sees its stars retire before they hit their twenties, but Biles is proving that age is just a number. Her longevity is both a triumph and a challenge.
Maintaining peak performance levels well into her late twenties is no small feat. Biles’ ability to keep flipping while the pressure mounts is a testament to her talent—and a reminder that even superheroes have to deal with age-related quirks.
“Not so long ago, it would’ve seemed crazy,” wrote The New York Times. “It’s also why it might no longer be so crazy for American fans to begin dreaming about an even more experienced U.S. team for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles—one led by a 31-year-old Simone Biles.
