Simone Biles Shades MyKayla Skinner After Gold Win at 2024 Olympics (2024)

Simone Biles seemingly threw some subtle shade at MyKayla Skinner after winning gold alongside the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” Biles, 27, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, July 30, alongside a photo of herself holding up an American flag alongside teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera.

Eagle-eyed fans quickly drew comparisons from Biles’ caption to Skinner’s remarks earlier this month when she criticized the 2024 gymnasts for not having the same “work ethic” as those of Team USA past. Skinner claimed during a July YouTube video that the current group of women “don’t work as hard” or have the “talent or depth” of those who came before them.

“The shade of it all 🤣🤣🤣🤣 you better GOAT! 🐐,” one person wrote in the comments section of Biles’ Tuesday post, while another replied, “F AROUND AND FIND OUT.” A third person added, “THIS CAPTION WINS A GOLD MEDAL.”

Related: Every Medal Team USA Won at the 2024 Paris Olympics

At the time of her initial remarks, Skinner partially credited SafeSport, an independent organization designed to prevent and respond “to sexual, physical, and emotional abuse” in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movement, for why she believes gymnasts have changed their approach to training.

Simone Biles Shades MyKayla Skinner After Gold Win at 2024 Olympics (2)

“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,” she alleged in the video.

Following her claims, members of Team USA took to social media to respond. Biles noted via Threads that “not everyone needs a mic and a platform,” while Chiles’ mother, Gina, wrote via X, “Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That’s something.”

Skinner, meanwhile, has since apologized for her actions, claiming she was “misinterpreted” and “misunderstood.”

“A lot of the stuff I was talking about wasn’t always necessarily about the current team because I love and support all the girls that made it and I’m so proud of them,” Skinner explained via a July Instagram Story. “It was more about going back into my own gym and the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the Marta [Karolyi] era.”

Biles and Skinner have a long history together, as they were both members of Team USA for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. In 2016, Skinner traveled to Rio as an alternate while Biles won her first Olympic gold medals. Four years later, Skinner took Biles’ place in the vault final when Biles dropped out due to the “twisties,” a term used to describe a gymnast’s loss of control during competition.

While Skinner, who said the Tokyo Olympics would be her last before retirement, took home the silver medal that year, she failed to move beyond the qualifying round for the all-around gymnastics final.

Despite Skinner’s initial doubts about the 2024 team, Biles and her teammates remained determined at this year’s games, taking home the gold on Tuesday. With their win, Biles officially became the most decorated American Olympic gymnast of all time, surpassing Shannon Miller.

Throughout Tuesday’s competition, Team USA remained at the top of the leaderboard as Biles, Lee, 21, Chiles, 23, and Carey, 24, showed off their skills on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and during the floor exercise. The women will follow up their victory at the women’s all-around competition on Thursday, August 1, followed by the individual event finals from Saturday, August 3, through Monday, August 5.

Related: Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner's History Explained

Despite suffering a calf injury during the all-around qualifiers on Sunday, July 28, Biles pushed through the pain and taped up her leg after her balance beam routine and continued to compete in her subsequent events.

During an interview with Hoda Kotb earlier this month, Biles described this year’s games as a “redemption tour” for herself and her teammates after walking away with the silver medal four years prior.

“In Tokyo, we all didn’t have our best performances,” she said, “so we’re excited to go out there and kill it.”

In this article

Simone Biles
Simone Biles Shades MyKayla Skinner After Gold Win at 2024 Olympics (2024)

FAQs

What did Simone Biles win gold in the 2024 Olympics? ›

Simone Biles becomes most decorated American gymnast

Following a disappointing Tokyo Olympics, Biles was back and legitimately better than ever in Paris. The 27-year-old Texas native won three golds (team, all-around, vault) and a silver (floor exercise), setting a number of records along the way.

What did MyKayla Skinner say to Simone Biles? ›

Skinner, the mom of a 10-month-old daughter, said in the video, "To Simone, I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this. Please ask your followers to stop." "You have been an incredible champion for mental health awareness, and lot of people need your help now.

Is MyKayla Skinner in the 2024 Olympics? ›

Skinner retired from gymnastics after Tokyo and did not take part in the Olympic trials for the 2024 games.

Who won gold floor 2024? ›

Artistic gymnastics: Rebeca Andrade wins women's floor exercise gold, Biles takes silver.

Who won gold over Simone Biles? ›

Brazil's Rebeca Andrade bested Biles for the floor gold, becoming the nation's most decorated Olympian. In one of the most dramatic twists of the Games, Jordan Chiles won her first individual Olympic medal after appealing her score, adding a floor bronze to her two team medals: a Paris gold and a silver in Tokyo.

Did MyKayla Skinner block Simone Biles? ›

Skinner blocked Simone on Instagram

According to Jordan Chiles's Instagram Stories on July 31, MyKayla blocked Simone on Instagram after she posted about Team USA's Olympic win. “When she blocks Simone,” Jordan wrote with a pic of her teammate's phone showing MyKayla's profile.

What did MyKayla Skinner win? ›

MyKayla Brooke Skinner Harmer (born December 9, 1996) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist, competing as an individual, and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team.

Why is Simone Biles blocked? ›

Simone Biles shared that she has been blocked on Instagram by former Team USA teammate and Olympic silver medalist MyKayla Skinner after the gymnastics GOAT clapped back at Skinners' previous criticism of Team USA women's gymnastics' in a viral Instagram post Tuesday.

What is MyKayla Skinner known for? ›

Beginning gymnastics in 2000, Skinner went on to compete for the University of Utah's women's gymnastics team. During her collegiate career, she earned two NCAA championship titles in 2017 and 2018 and was a two-time NCAA all-around runner-up.

Is MyKayla Skinner still married? ›

They announced their engagement in October 2019 and tied the knot that November. After four years of marriage, Skinner and Harmer welcomed their daughter, Charlotte, a.k.a. Lottie, in September 2023.

What does Simone Biles do? ›

Simone Arianne Biles Owens (née Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast.

Is MyKayla Skinner retired? ›

Will Simone Biles compete in 2024? ›

Simone Biles is done competing at Paris 2024: "I've accomplished way more than in my wildest dreams" It was the question that lingered ahead of Paris 2024: How would Simone Biles handle the Olympic stage again three years after Tokyo 2020 in 2021? Just fine, it turned out.

Which Olympics was MyKayla Skinner in? ›

Skinner competed alongside Biles in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, during which the U.S. women earned a silver medal in the team competition.

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