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Simone Biles and Team USA gymnastics won another gold medal on Tuesday night at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In doing so, she became the most decorated American athlete in the sport.
After claiming those first-place honors, Biles threw a thinly veiled jab at a former teammate that was critical of this year’s squad.
Makayla Skinner, who competed in Tokyo in 2020 before retiring, made some interesting comments during the lead-up to the Paris Games. Skinner won a silver medal in her last Olympic appearance, but she didn’t believe that this year’s group was up to the task.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” she was heard saying in a now-deleted YouTube video. “I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Skinner attempted to walk those remarks back, but Biles hadn’t forgotten.
In fact, she brought them back to light with a celebratory post on Instagram.
“Lack of talent, lazy Olympic champions,” Simone Biles wrote in a caption accompanied by a photo of her gold medal winning team.
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Biles’ husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens, replied in the comments section with the Team USA nickname – FAAFO.
Former Team USA member Makayla Moroney echoed those sentiments.
“It doesn’t get more iconic than this… She f’d around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name.”
Current teammate Jordan Chiles wrote, “And that’s on. Period!”
Everyone was excited to see Biles and Co. bring home another gold medal in Paris as she continued to stack accolades for her country. Well, maybe everyone but Makayla Skinner.