Gymnast Simone Biles made Olympic history in 2024 when she won gold with Team USA. With her eighth medal, Biles has become the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history.
Biles is a strong favourite to take home another gold when she competes on Thursday, August 1, in the Women’s Individual All-Around category. Though supporters applaud Biles’ amazing recovery from what she called a “global meltdown” at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in her Netflix documentary series, remarks made by Ohio senator JD Vance during that turbulent period reappeared on X.
The running partner for former President Donald Trump in 2024, Vance, said it as “strange” that so many people supported Biles’ decision to withdraw from competition. Due to a perilous ailment known as “the twisties,” which caused her to psychologically lose spatial awareness of her body when completing high-level feats, Biles withdrew herself from the Team Finals.
During an appearance on Fox News in 2021, Vance stated, “I think, clearly, it’s reasonable that she was going through an enormous amount of strain.”
“What’s so strange about this, and it speaks more to the media than Simone Biles, is that we’ve attempted to elevate this act of bravery from a very painful moment—Simone Biles’ decision to leave the Olympic squad. Furthermore, I believe that trying to praise people for their weakest moments rather than their strongest or most heroic ones speaks very ill about our therapeutic society.
“A typical reaction right now would be to say something like, ‘It’s unfortunate that she’s going through this.'” It’s unfortunate that she gave up. Vance went on. Rather, I believe that our journalism has created this peculiar healing time. “Let us give her props for taking this on. And I believe that this is actually the root of the issue.
Fans Strongly Defended Simone Biles Against JD Vance’s Previous Comments
How does it feel to have the weight of the world on your shoulders? Simone Biles can tell you.
SIMONE BILES RISING: Part 1 is now playing.
Users online slammed Vance’s comments about the greatest gymnast of all time. One man posted, “JD Vance throws shame on Simone Biles for prioritizing her mental health. Shame on you JD Vance.”
Another person commented, “I know he said it four years ago, but Vance should have to wear this statement forever. Never let this weirdo convince you that lifting people up when they’re at a low point is a bad thing. Oh, and congrats to Simone Biles on the 2024 gold 🥇.”
One woman wrote, “Throw back to JD Vance saying that Simone Biles quitting the Olympic Team in 2020 to take care of herself was a moment of weakness. Meanwhile she’s the GOAT and he’s just a weird guy best known for couch memes.”
Numerous fans pointed out that Vance didn’t seem to understand the extremely hazardous state Biles was in when she withdrew from the competition. One person posted, “Simone Biles pulled herself out in Tokyo because her case of the twisties put herself in danger physically and would have been a detriment to the team vs an alternate not facing that issue. Also, JD Vance is an [expletive].”
Simone Biles Said Of Her Comeback to Gymnastics: ‘It’s Truly For Myself’
Biles spoke about the shame she felt after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in “Simone Biles: Rising,” and the hateful comments she read about herself online. However, with weekly therapy sessions and a strong feeling in her soul that she wasn’t done with gymnastics, the 27-year-old embarked on her redemption journey.
“This time, coming back, it’s truly for myself,” Biles said in the show. “But it’s also, I never want to look back in 10 years and say, ‘Oh, what if I could’ve done another Olympic cycle or at least tried?’ Because so much has happened in this sport so much has scared the living [expletive] out of me, that I couldn’t have it take that one last thing from me.”
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