At 27 years old, Simone Biles is Team USA’s oldest female gymnast to compete on the Olympic Games in 72 years. As she makes history, the seven-time Olympic medalist reflects on how she has treated her “older” counterparts, like 30-year-old Aly Raisman.
After qualifying for the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team on Sunday, June 30, Biles spoke with the press about her age, prompting her to supply an apology to Raisman, who was just 22 when she was the team captain on the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“I definitely must apologize to Aly for calling her grandma because, whew,” she said in the course of the conference. “I feel like I’m way older now than me calling her grandma after we were younger.”
Eight years after her first Olympic Games in Rio, Simone Biles, 27, has an apology for her former team captain, Aly Raisman, who was dubbed “grandma” back then at just 22. 😅💀🤪#USAGTrials24 #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/f0bhUnZ8O3
— Gymnastics Now (@Gymnastics_Now) July 1, 2024
“And, , it’s what, 11 [p.m.]? So, it’s definitely past my bedtime,” she joked. “So, I do know Aly can be cracking up straight away. I’m so much older and more mature. What was the remaining of the query? See, I’m forgetting.”
Because the oldest member of Team USA, she also explained her recovery process and the way in another way her body feels now as compared to the Rio Games eight years ago.
“I definitely must deal with recovery mentally, physically. After Classics, I swore I couldn’t walk. I used to be like hobbling to the plane, in order that was exciting. After Championships, I felt a bit of bit higher and after day certainly one of Trials, I used to be actually surprised I could walk. So I used to be like, ‘Woo, I’m actually not as sore, I’m not hurting,’ ” the gymnast said.
Biles continued, “So it takes a giant part. So recovery, I just must take a bit of bit more serious. Back in Rio, I could do anything. I’d never needed tape, nothing. I used to be identical to a bit of hamster on a wheel, all the time running.”
The 2024 Olympics are set to be a redemption arc for Biles after she suffered from a debilitating case of the “twisties” in Tokyo in 2021 and dropped out of the vast majority of her events.
