Simone Biles hits back at former teammate with brutal jibe after Olympics gold

Simjson Biles has appeared to hit out once again at former Team USA team-mate MyKayla Skinner, who was embroiled in a row with the 27-year-old at the end of last year

Simone Biles appeared to take a swipe at an ex-teammate after leading Team USA to women’s team gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Alongside Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey, Biles put on a stunning performance on Tuesday, helping the U.S. team secure the top spot.

The American squad outshone their rivals, winning the event by a staggering five-and-a-half points over second-place Italy. Biles, who bagged five medals at Rio 2016 and two more at Tokyo 2020, is now the most decorated gymnast in US history. She could potentially add another four medals to her collection in Paris, including Tuesday’s gold.

After the team event, Biles shared a photo on Instagram of her team celebrating their win with a USA flag. She captioned the image: “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”

The caption seems to be a pointed jab at MyKayla Skinner, who previously criticized Biles and her teammates for lacking the right “work ethic”. Skinner, also 27, is a former Team USA gymnast who competed in Tokyo three years prior.

In a since-deleted YouTube video, Skinner stated: “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”

Skinner then made reference to the US Center for SafeSport, an organization dedicated to preventing sexual abuse of athletes and minors in US Olympic sports.

She remarked: “And it’s hard too because of SafeSport. Like, coaches can’t get on athletes and they have to be really careful what they say. Which, in some ways, is really good. But at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be, I feel like, a little aggressive and a little intense.”

Simone Biles (centre) helped Team USA win the team gymnastics gold at the Olympics 2024 (Image: GETTY))
Biles had already responded to Skinner’s remarks following the controversy by posting on Threads: “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform”. And after Biles, Lee, Chiles, and Carey unfollowed Skinner on social media, Skinner issued an apology.

“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,” Skinner stated. “It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work.”

“Reflecting on it, I realize I was comparing the Marta [Karolyi] era to now. I’m beginning to understand that I haven’t completely processed the emotional and verbal abuse I went through with Marta, which probably influenced my insensitive words. I fully own up to what I said and am truly sorry.”