The GOAT!

Simone freaking Biles! The 4-foot 8 inch 24-year old is the most decorated American gymnast in history; male or female. She is competing against herself in every competition. She has continued to raise her own bar and defy gravity with skills so far advanced they are named after her.

Simone chose not to retire after Rio and she came back for another Olympics. She had nothing more to prove in the sport. Simone is hands down THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME! As one of Larry Nassar’s victims, she chose to come back to put more pressure on USA Gymnastics and for them to finally take action and make the sport safer for young girls. She felt by being a victim and still competing, she could make more noise and save the sport.

Imagine being so darn star spangled awesome that you can do a vault that the person it’s named after never even did the skill in competition?!?! The level of difficulty in the Yurchenko double pike is so challenging that no other woman has ever attempted it in competition or are they even trying to, other than Simone. Watch.

.@Simone_Biles successfully completed a Yurchenko double pike in vault at last night's #USClassic.

She is the first woman in HISTORY to perform the move in competition. @OnHerTurf pic.twitter.com/j07ZweTA0f

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) May 23, 2021

This is more of a skill for a platform diver to do, not a skill to do off of a vault. The level of difficulty is 10.0. NO ONE HAS EVER DONE IT! If it was easy, everyone would do it. Judges scored it a 6.6 like most of Simone’s advanced tricks; completely underrated and rigged like a Russian judge. Just wrong!

Simone said “I feel like now we just have to get what we get because there’s no point in putting up a fight because they’re not going to reward it, so we just have to take it and be quiet.” Imagine the PGA telling players you can’t shoot more than 15 under par in a Major. Imagine the NBA telling Yannis he can’t score more than 30 points in the NBA Championship game. You can’t imagine it because it would never happen. Men would never tell men to be less dominate, ever! So why are they telling Simone and every other gymnast not to push record breaking skills? Why are they punishing Simone for the being the GOAT?

After not having a Simone like performance in qualifying, she was clearly frustrated. Yesterday, Simone posted on her Instagram: “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times. I know I brush it off and make it seem like pressure doesn’t affect me but damn sometimes it’s hard”. This is not a post for sympathy. That post was an internal cry for help.

The pressure to make noise and protect young gymnasts.

The pressure to be the GOAT every time you put on the leotard.

The pressure to win gold for Team USA for the third time in a row.

The pressure of being so advanced from your peers that you get punished by the judges for it.

The pressure of an Olympics where you’re there alone with no family or fans.

Warmups for the Team competition did not go well. After her first vault, Simone left the floor. No one was sure if she had a medical issue. The broadcasters went back and forth about injury and mental health in the real time broadcast. Both are imperative for the success of any athlete. Minutes later, Simone withdrew from the team competition. Simone was the biggest cheerleader for her teammates as they stepped up and gave a heck of a flight for the Silver medal. Women supporting women, especially in the world of sports when you are dealing with your own pain, y’all I don’t care what color the medal is, Simone is Gold in every way possible.

I will never understand gymnastics scoring and I’m 100% biased, but the Russians floor routines were so basic. I’ve seen harder tumbling passes from my high school cheerleading days. And they were terrible on the beam. How did they win gold?!?! And why are they calling themselves the ROC- Russian Olympic Committee, this is not a JayZ song.

When you lose your number one teammate, the greatest female gymnast of all time and still bring home the silver medal, that means Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum are some pretty dope females and America is so bleeping proud of you all!

Now what happens?

Simone understood she was not in the right head space to be Simone Biles and by stepping back, she gave her team and her country a better chance to win a medal. Simone said “I’m not going to lose a medal for this country and for these girls,” she said. “They worked too hard … it’s not worth it, especially when you have three amazing athletes who can step up.”

 Team USA officials told NPR earlier Tuesday that Simone will be assessed daily to determine medical clearance for future competitions. This gives a hint of hope that we will see Simone in the individual all-around competition on Thursday and continue day-by-day with Sunday: vault and uneven bars, Monday: floor, and Tuesday: balance beam.

Simone said “We’re going to take it a day at a time. It will be a good mental rest and we’ll take it from there.” In an interview with the TODAY Show’s Hoda Kotb, Simone said “I hope America still loves us”. Of course we love you, Simone you will forever be the GOAT.