Simone Biles demonstrated her bemusement at the line of questioning from journalists at the Paris Olympics as she called on media personnel to avoid pressing athletes on their plans after success at the Games.
The American gymnast further consolidated her legacy as a bona fide sporting great as she earned her tenth Olympic medal as she triumphed in the women's vault final on Saturday. Her third medal at the spectacle in the French capital, this latest victory came after she earned gold in the all-round and team events too.
The most decorated gymnast in history, the 27-year-old is well-versed in the impacts that success can have on a competitor - for better and for worse. Her heroics in Paris this summer represent redemption for Biles after she withdrew from the Games in Tokyo three years ago after suffering from "the twisties".
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Now, the fan favorite has called on the media to avoid asking athletes questions about the future as she asked for the media to allow stars to enjoy the here and now in France. Taking to Twitter/X, she said: "You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics , later adding; "let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for."
The remark led to a flurry of comments from a selection of the gymnast's 1.9 million followers, with one intrigued enthusiast then asked: "What is your next step after winning Gold medal??", to which Biles then bluntly replied: "Babysitting the medal."
This is not the first time that she has hit out with a barbed comment during the Games, having fired back at critics of her husband Jonathan Owens after he wore one of her Olympic medals. She asserted: "Crazy thing is, I put my medal on every single one of my family members and took pictures. So don’t ever make assumptions. Like y’all are so f------ miserable. Leave us alone."
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Amid her success in Paris, Biles has been open about the satisfaction she has felt at proving her detractors wrong. She said: "The negative comments, they’re painful after a certain point. They hurt, but I'm still in therapy working on all that stuff to just make sure my mental health is well," before adding: "They’re really quiet now."
Meanwhile, there has been no doubting the esteem that the American icon is held in among her peers, with competitor Rebeca Andrade having spoken glowingly about her rival's talents. She said of her contemporary after finishing as runner-up in the vault final : "Simone is from another world.
"But we always try to get better and evolve in the best way possible. To be able to watch her do her incredible gymnastics is an encouragement for everyone to do their best."
Previous to this Biles had waxed lyrical about the Brazilian star, admitting on Thursday: "I don’t want to compete with Rebeca no more. I’m tired. She’s way too close. I’ve never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes and brought out the best athlete in myself," adding: "I’m going to hand it to her now — she can have the rest."
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