MyKayla Skinner celebrated Team USA’s superb gymnastics gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, despite her public criticism of the team in the build-up to the Games.
Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey dominated the field to top the podium as they finished five-and-a-half points clear of nearest rivals Italy.
Three-time world team champion Skinner posted a picture of the team with the medals accompanied by three heart emojis.
But Biles later appeared to snap back at Skinner. On her Instagram after the accomplishment, Biles, 27, posted a picture of the team with a brutal caption.
‘Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,’ the post read, in what seems to be a specific dig at former Team USA gymnast Skinner, who criticised the team’s makeup in the run-up to the games.
In a now-deleted YouTube video, Skinner blasted the team of Biles, Chiles, Lee, Carey, and Hezly Rivera for not having the right ‘work ethic’.
‘Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,’ the 27-year-old said.
‘The girls just don’t have the work ethic,’ Skinner continued before referencing the US Center for SafeSport – a non-profit organization set up to reduce sexual abuse of minors and athletes in US Olympic sports.
‘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.’
In the immediate aftermath of that, Biles clapped back at Skinner, writing on Threads, ‘not everyone needs a mic and a platform’.
Biles and a number of other gymnasts, including Chiles, Lee, and Carey, all blocked Skinner on social media after her comments.
Skinner would later go on to apologize for her comments.
‘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,’ Skinner’s apology from July 6 read.
She continued, ‘Upon reflection I was comparing the “Marta [Karolyi] era” to the current era.
‘I am coming to terms 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.’
Skinner would finish her apology by wishing the gymnasts luck in Paris and that she would be ‘cheering you all on!’
A number of people left comments under Biles’ post – with some recognizing who its intended target was.
‘NEVER A DOUBT’, wrote American Olympic skiing sensation Mikaela Shiffrin.
‘F AROUND AND FIND OUT,’ wrote Biles’ husband and Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens – who also commented ‘Gold medalist’.
‘This caption is also worthy of a gold medal,’ wrote one Biles fan.
Another said, ‘Lol she’s probably so jealous that you guys won.’
‘IN THAT F** [sic] ORDER LACK OF TALENT & LAZY OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS,’ wrote another fan. ‘Simone you a menace for this caption.’
Biles and Skinner both represented Team USA at a number of competitions – including at the 2020 Olympic Games.
They picked up Olympic medals in Tokyo, despite Biles withdrawing from several events with a case of the ‘twisties’ – a mental block that that sees a gymnast lose control of their body during a twisting skill in midair.
But now she has her redemption: winning a second team Olympic gold and her fifth overall Olympic gold medal.
Reflecting on the achievement, Biles told DailyMail.com that the pressure in Paris was different to the past, but her experience helped guide her through.
‘In 2016 we were destined to win gold and everybody said we were destined to win gold, so whenever we went out there we did our job and we did win gold.
‘We were a little young and naïve so it didn’t hit the way that it does now. Now that I am much older and we have so much more experience and we are out here really having fun and enjoying what we are doing.
‘So I think it is just different and it is not to say that I wasn’t shocked that we won because it was still super surprising, my first gold medal ever. It was so exciting. But I think the pressure was so on for us to win gold so we did just did what we were supposed to do.
‘Even going into tonight, we just did what we had to do, but it just felt a little bit different. It was super exciting, we had fun out there and we just did our gymnastics.
Simone added: ‘We’re super excited. We’re honored to represent the US every time we get on a world stage but accomplishing that gold and that goal was just an amazing feeling.
‘I think we all had something to prove from Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and tonight we did just that.
‘It means the world. This was our goal going in, even though we didn’t share it with everybody because it’s just a personal thing that we were working on. But I think for everybody it’s what we came here to do. And we’re super excited to walk away with that gold medal.’
