MyKayla, who retired after winning a silver medal on the vault at the Tokyo Olympics, previously criticized the Team USA gymnasts in a since-deleted YouTube comment.
- July 31, 2024
AceShowbiz - Simone Biles appeared to fire back at MyKayla Skinner. Simone took to Instagram to celebrate the U.S. women's gymnastics team's victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics while also shading her former teammate in the process.
On Tuesday, July 30, the 27-year-old gymnast treated her followers to a carousel of photos of herself and teammates Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles looking super thrilled after winning the gold medal at the big competition. "lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions," so Simon wrote in the caption.
Fans quickly assumed that the caption was meant as a clapback at MyKayla, who previously criticized the Team USA gymnasts since-deleted YouTube comment. "Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be. Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard. The girls just don't have the work ethic," MyKayla wrote earlier this month.
The former gymnast, who retired after winning a silver medal on the vault at the Tokyo Olympics, later backtracked her remarks. She wrote on Instagram on July 6, "It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or take away from their hard work," Skinner posted on Instagram July 6. "Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you."
The back-and-forth aside, Simone made history after taking home the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics. It marked her eighth Olympic medal since first participating in the 2016 Rio Olympics, making her the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history. She surpassed retired gymnast Shannon Miller, who obtained seven medals while participating in the 1992 and 1996 summer games.
"We all knew she could do it," U.S. gymnastics technical lead Chellsie Memmel told reporters of Simone after the competition. "That wasn't ever a question in my mind that she could do it and it continues to just solidify her place as the greatest gymnast of all time."