What did JD Vance say during Simone Biles' Tokyo Olympics withdrawal? Everything about the viral video that is resurfacing now

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Aug 02, 2024 05:02 GMT

JD Vance hit out at Simone Biles after the legendary gymnast decided to withdraw from competing in the final rounds of women's gymnastics events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She pulled herself out from competing after experiencing "twisties," a phenomenon where the gymnasts lose the coordination between the mind and body.

Despite withdrawing from the competition and receiving immense support from the fans, Biles was criticized by a few individuals, including United States Senator JD Vance. In an interview with Fox News in 2021, the 40-year-old politician, who was then running for the Senate, criticized Biles calling her withdrawal act as "weakest moment".

He also called out on media for transforming her withdrawal into a positive act, referring to it as a "weird therapeutic moment."

"Being an athlete at that level is incredibly tough," he said. "A normal response at this moment would be to say, ‘It’s just a shame that she’s going through this. It’s a shame that she quit,’ but instead, what our press has done, I think, is turn this into this weird therapeutic moment. ‘Let’s praise her for doing this'," he added.

"I think it reflects pretty poorly on our sort of therapeutic society that we try to praise people, not for moments of strength, not for moments of heroism, but for their weakest moments," JD Vance said.

Simone Biles stands alongside Nadia Comaneci in the most number of Olympic medals won by women gymnasts

Simone Biles of the United States competes at the artistic gymnastics women's all-around final at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Photo via Getty Images)

Following her recent victory of clinching a gold medal in the women's all-around event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Simone Biles has secured a place next to Nadia Comaneci in the list of women gymnasts with the most number of Olympic medals.

Biles and Comaneci have nine Olympic medals under their belt. While Comaneci has earned five gold, three silver, and one bronze medal, Biles stands with 6 gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. Biles is yet to compete in the individual balance beam, floor exercise and vault events in the French capital.

The list of the highest number of Olympic medals won by a women gymnast is topped by former Soviet gymnast, Larisa Latynina with 18 medals, including nine gold, five silver, and four bronze medals.

Simone Biles earned her ninth Olympic medal by gathering a whopping 59.131 points to defeat Rebeca Andrade and fellow teammate Suni Lee.