Simone Biles had harsh words for critics in a congratulatory social media post following the U.S. women’s gymnastics team’s victory and gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Biles, whose victory on Tuesday made her the most medal-winning gymnast in U.S. history, appeared to fire back at former teammate Mikayla Skinner, who made critical comments about the team’s “work ethic.”
“Lack of talent, laziness, Olympic champion ❤️🥇🇺🇸” the 27-year-old athlete captioned the post. Instagram Posts After the victory.
In the post, Biles can be seen posing with teammates Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles after topping the scoreboard.
Biles’ tongue-in-cheek caption appeared to take aim at Skinner’s earlier harsh comments about the Olympic team.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth isn’t what it used to be. Obviously, realize a lot of the girls aren’t working as hard as they used to. The girls don’t have the work ethic,” Skinner said in a since-deleted YouTube video. Trending on X.
The former gymnast, who retired after winning a silver medal on vault at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, later retracted her comments after receiving significant backlash.
“It was not my intention to disrespect the players or belittle them or take away from their efforts,” Skinner said. Post to Instagram July 6. “Your hard work and dedication have paid off. Congratulations to each and every one of you.”
Skinner and Biles both represented the United States at the 2014 World Championships.
With Tuesday’s success, Biles led the U.S. team to its third team all-around gold medal in the last four Olympics.
The U.S. team defeated Italy and Brazil to win the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
The gold medal was a welcome return to form after a disappointing finish at the Tokyo Games four years ago, and it was Biles’ fifth Olympic gold medal, adding to one silver and two bronze medals.
Her eight Olympic medals are the most by an American gymnast, one more than Shannon Miller, who won in 1992 and 1996.
2024 Paris Olympics
The 2024 Paris Olympics will be her third time competing, and she was also a member of the gold medal-winning team in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Biles will now continue to prepare for the individual all-around final, which begins on August 1.
She will compete against several others, including teammate Suni Lee, who won gold in Tokyo, with a chance to take home up to four more medals.
Biles has previously called the 2024 Olympics a “revenge tour” after the U.S. women’s team won a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
