Simone Biles might be the most decorated athlete and the biggest name in gymnastics right now but that’s not what has people talking right now. Instead, people are recontextualizing her brilliance with an old picture of her from back in 2017.
Simone Biles, so far, has eight Olympic medals under belt and is riding high after her latest success at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
On July 30, Biles and her teammates, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera – won gold for Team USA group final for women’s gymnastics.
With this came praise and adoration from people all over social media
As well as, this people have gone digging into Biles’ past and found a brilliant photo with her and NBA and Los Angeles Laker legend, Shaquille O’Neal.
Simone is now the most decorated US gymnast of all time. (Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)
In case you had never seen Biles off the performance mat, she is actually quite petite, standing at 4ft 8ins. Shaq, on the other hand, stands at roughly 7ft 1ins, so the pair of them together is quite the sight.
The resurfaced photo was shared on Twitter by Biles back in 2017 when the pair were snapped together at a Super Bowl event. Amazingly, Biles barely even passes the waist of the former NBA player. Looks like the gymnast was even wearing heels in the photo as well.
“On a gymnastics floor, Simone Biles has jumped up to 12 feet, which means she could jump over Shaq. Mind blown,” one person commented.
“Mind you at USAG trials Simone Biles reached 12 feet in the air during her floor routine. Her body cleared 7’4”, meaning she could jump over Shaq’s head with ease. Really wild to think about when you see them next to each other,” another wrote as they shared the iconic photo.
That’s one hell of a height difference, with fans saying Biles could probably ‘vault’ over Shaq. (Simone Biles/Twitter)
“Simone Biles is a giant in the world of gymnastics, but she looks just a little bit smaller in a fun throwback pic of her posing next to former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal. Congrats Simone & team USA!,” a third commented.
“I grew up idolizing the Magnificent Seven, the US’s 1996 Olympic team. And Simone Biles is so far beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. The greatest gymnast of all-time,” praised another.
The love for Biles is also more than justified as she has stunned at this years’ olympics and currently stands as the most decorated US gymnast of all time, having secured her eighth medal – one more than Shannon Miller.
The 27-year-old won her first Olympic gold back in Rio 2016 as the American team exceeded the competition.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@simonebiles/Getty Images/Tom Weller/VOIGT
Topics: Instagram, Olympics, Twitter, Viral, Simone Biles
Olympic swimmer Simone Biles said she has been ‘blocked’ by a former teammate after posting about her and her team’s gold medal win.
Biles and her teammates Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera took the gold for Team USA in the group final for gymnastics.
But while it was undoubtedly a triumph for the US team, it seems that not everyone has welcomed the news.
After the victory, Biles took to Instagram and posted a picture of the team posing together, captioning it: “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”
For those not in the know, this is a reference to comments made by Biles’ former teammate MyKayla Skinner criticising the ‘work ethic’ of the team.
Skinner said: “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.”
The comments clearly aged like shellfish left out in the sun after the US team’s victory, but Biles has now indicated that things are looking a tad salty.
Team USA gymnasts Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, Simone Biles, Jade Carey and Sunisa Le celebrate their victory. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Taking to Twitter, she wrote that her former teammate had now blocked her online, tweeting ‘oop I’ve been blocked’ alongside a ‘look’ emoji, one with a hand over its mouth, and a laughing emoji.
People took to the comments to share their thoughts, with one writing: “You’re iconic and who is she?”
Another wrote: “The trash usually takes itself out.”
Meanwhile a third offered their best wishes to the team, writing: “Congratulations, Simone and the team. It was wonderful to watch all of you win the Gold.”
Skinner has since posted an apology to her Twitter page to Team USA and the gymnastic community.
Simone Biles commented that she was ‘blocked’ following the team’s victory. (Tom Weller/VOIGT/GettyImages)
She wrote: “Dear Team USA and our gymnastics community, I want to formally apologize to Team USA and to our gymnastic community for my comments during my recent YouTube episodes of the gymnastics Olympic trials.
“It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work.
“Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you.
“Upon reflection I was comparing the ‘Marta Era’ to the current era. I am coming to terms that that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Marta that perhaps led to my hurtful comments.
“I take full responsibility for what I said and I deeply apologize.”
She went on to say that wants gymnastics to have a ‘positive environment for all’, and wished the team ‘all the very best in Paris’.
Featured Image Credit: GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images / Patrick Smith/Getty Images
