"I know and see the hard work they put in"- Simone Biles opens up on her support for Rebeca Andrade after she won the gold medal at Paris Olympics

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Aug 30, 2024 07:13 GMT

Simone Biles performed well at the Paris Olympics, where she won three golds and a silver medal to become the most decorated American female gymnast of all time. However, amidst the controversy surrounding the floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics, an act of chivalry and pure sportsmanship was almost forgotten, on which Simone Biles recently opened up during an interview.

It was during the victory ceremony for the floor exercise event, when Rebeca Andrade of Brazil came up to receive the gold medal. Biles had won the silver medal, while Jordan Chiles had received the bronze medal. Both made a 'hands down' gesture in respect to the efforts made by the Brazilian gymnast for the Olympic gold medal.

Recently, during an interview for the Olympics channel, Biles opened up on why she did that gesture towards Andrade to her former teammate and Olympic champion Alexandra Raisman. In her words,

"... So whenever it's something for somebody else, I know and I see the hard work that they put in, because for me, since I'm living in my own body, I don't feel it the same......But whenever I see somebody else accomplish it, I feel like that's the excitement I get, because I've seen the hours, and I wish I could celebrate myself like that!"

Previously, Simone Biles had mentioned to the reporters why she bowed down to Rebeca Andrade along with Jordan Chiles. According to Biles, it was a tribute to the Brazilian's efforts to overcome her ACL injuries and emerge as an Olympic champion.

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Simone Biles on her rivalry with Rebeca Andrade

Biles and Andrade await the results of Balance Beam at the Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade have been fiercely competitive in the arena of artistic gymnastics, irrespective of the category. However, the two share immense respect for each other, proving the power of true sportsmanship.

When asked about her competitors in the Netflix documentary 'Simone Biles Rising', the 27-year-old highlighted Rebeca Andrade in particular, mentioning that she 'scares her the most.'

After she defeated Rebeca Andrade in the individual all around event at the Paris Olympics for the gold medal, Simone Biles mentioned in jest to the reporters,

"I don't want to compete with Rebeca no more. I'm tired, like she's way too close. I've never had an athlete that close."

Rebeca Andrade returned the gesture with compliments, when she said,

"Knowing that I gave Simone [Biles] a bit of work is cool, right?"

Biles and Andrade competed in a total of five events against each other at the Paris Olympics 2024. The American won the gold medal in the team all around event, while Rebeca Andrade won the bronze medal as part of Team Brazil.

The two further competed in the finals of individual all around and the vault. Andrade lost both times to Biles by a whisker, settling for the silver medal. However, in two events, the Brazilian gymnast got the better of the Olympic champion.

In the finals of the balance beam, Rebeca Andrade and Simone Biles both finished outside the podium. However, Andrade edged out Biles with a clean score of 13.933 to finish fourth overall. Then came the floor exercise finals, where Rebeca Andrade scored a total of 14.166, while the American finished narrowly behind her with 14.133, thus ending wuth the silver medal.