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After winning gold with her teammates in the women’s gymnastics event in Paris, Simone Biles couldn’t resist the chance to take a victory lap – and shade a former Olympic colleague.
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Biles, who became the most-decorated gymnast in U.S. history after Tuesday’s triumph, took to Instagram and seemingly clap back at some critical comments made by MyKayla Skinner, who questioned the current team’s “work ethic.”
With a picture of Biles and teammates Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles celebrating while holding an American flag, Biles wrote the caption: “Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions” with heart and gold medal emojis.
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The post appeared to be a very thinly veiled retort to Skinner’s comments made in the lead up to the Games.
“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,” Skinner said in a since-deleted YouTube video, which has since gone viral on X.
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Skinner competed at the Tokyo Games, winning silver in the vault event, and was an alternate at the 2016 Games. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 2021.
After her comments had blown up on social media, Skinner tried to walk them back in an Instagram post 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. “Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you.”
The U.S. team beat Italy and Brazil to top the podium in the team event, with Canada finishing in fifth place.
Biles will be competing in the individual all-around finals, which kicks off on Aug. 1.
The 27-year-old, competing in her third Games, is aiming to add on to her record medal haul. With eight total medals (five gold, one silver, two bronze), Biles now has one more than previous record holder Shannon Miller, who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games and again at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Biles will have the chance to take home up to four more medals in the individual competitions, potentially bringing her total to 12 — which would be the second-most ever by a women’s gymnast.
For what it’s worth, Skinner seemed happy for the big win, posting a photo of the team on her Instagram Story with three heart emojis above it.
Too little, too late.
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