"I was just jumping around all over the place because she's the best gymnast ever"- Young girl in racism incident in Ireland on Simone Biles' support
Simone Biles recently came in support of a young gymnast, who allegedly experienced racial abuse, demonstrating her solidarity with the athlete.
The incident occurred in March 2022, in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, at the GymStart Event, where all the young gymnasts were awarded medals except for a little girl, a black gymnast.
Despite not receiving the medal, she kept smiling while the presenter moved forward to give away the medals to other gymnasts. This alleged incident of racial discrimination appalled the gymnastics world, including the 25-time world championships medalist, Simone Biles.
In an interview with BBC News, the young gymnast, whose identity has not been revealed due to concerns of racial abuse, informed that Biles sent her a video extending her support and affirming that she was on her side.
"I wanted to let you know that I saw how you were treated at your GymStart event recently. I was completely shocked. I want you to know that you deserve a medal just like the other girls," Biles said in the video.
During the BBC interview, the young gymnast expressed her joy and described it as a magical moment to have received the video.
"I was just jumping around all over the place because she's the best gymnast ever and I was really happy to hear that she's on my side," expressed the gymnast.
The video inspired the young gymnast to keep competing despite the alarming incident.
"Yeah, I'm still continuing," she said. "I'm going to keep striving hard," expressed the young gymnast.
Simone Biles performs the Yurchenko double pike during the women's podium training ahead of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2023
Simone Biles has returned to Antwerp for the first time since 2013 to compete in the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The event is scheduled to be held from September 30 to October 8, 2023.
At the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Biles achieved an incredible feat by clinching two gold medals in all-around and floor exercises and a silver medal in vault as a 16-year-old. She is the only U.S. female gymnast in history to ever get selected to compete in the world championships six times.
During the women's podium training in Antwerp, she was seen performing the Yurchenko double pike vault twice effortlessly. The Yurchenko double pike is the most difficult element to perform in gymnastics and Biles was the first female gymnast to perform it during the 2021 GK U.S. Classic.
If Simone Biles performs the Yurchenko double pike without falling, the particular element will be named after her as Biles II.