Source: Tim Clayton – Corbis / Getty
USA Gymnastics is back on top.
After finishing with a silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games, Simone Biles helped lead her team of Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera and Jade Carey to the top of the podium after winning the gold in the women’s gymnastics team final.
But it wasn’t just about getting back to the gold; it was about proving the doubters wrong, namely a fellow USA gymnast who had some choice words for the team’s talents prior to the Paris Olympics kicking off.
After the roster was named last month, MyKayla Skinner, who won silver in 2020 for her performance in the Olympic vault, had some heavy criticism for the squad.
Part 1: The gymnastics community cannot let these comments to be swept under the rug. I will be as respectful as possible to @mykaylaskinner but instead of engaging in meaningful conversation she blocks anyone who holds her accountable for her words. pic.twitter.com/Y69pwCxnUG
— Riley (@gymguyri) July 3, 2024
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be,” she said, critiquing how other team members made mistakes. I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Skinner also questioned Safesport –an agency that was brought up to make sure gymnasts weren’t being abused in the wake of Larry Nassar sexually abusing hundreds of young women– claiming it could make the competitors too soft.
She goes on to say it could be an easier route to gold for the USA because they won’t have their normal highly competitive battle with Russia, which was banned from the Olympics for invading Ukraine.
— MyKayla Skinner (Harmer) (@mykaylaskinner) July 6, 2024
Skinner tried to apologize for her hater comments slightly, saying that it was “not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work.”
But that didn’t matter to Biles, who appeared to respond to Skinner with a spicy Instagram post, letting her competitive nature get the best of her.
In a photo that shows Team USA gymnasts holding the flag after their win, Biles added a caption that reads, “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions,” proving she’s probably been listening to the haters.
See how social media is reacting to the clapback below.
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