When Simone Biles officially cemented her place on Team USA for her third Olympic Games, she made history as America’s oldest female gymnast to compete at the Games in 72 years.
She is just 27-years-old.
Biles recently acknowledged this during a press conference on Sunday after the U.S. Olympic trials.
Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast ever, now has a much different outlook on how she perceived her friend and former team captain Aly Raisman, who was once dubbed the “grandma” of the team.
After qualifying for the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team, Biles made sure to tell the press that she needed to apologize to Raisman, who was just 22 when she was the team captain at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
During the press conference, Biles said, “So now, I definitely have to apologize to Aly for calling her grandma because, whew, I feel like I’m way older now than me calling her grandma when we were younger,” as reported by Gymnastics Now.
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
Biles was 19 when she competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is now five years older than Raisman was at that time.
“And, you know, it’s what, 11 [p.m.]? So, it’s definitely past my bedtime,” she joked. “So, I know Aly would be cracking up right now. I’m a lot older and more mature. What was the rest of the question? See, I’m forgetting.”
As the oldest member of Team USA, Simone Biles further explained the recovery process she goes through now as compared to what she was doing in the Rio Games eight years ago.
“I definitely have to take care of recovery mentally, physically. After Classics, I swore I couldn’t walk. I was like hobbling to the plane, so that was exciting. After Championships, I felt a little bit better and after day one of Trials, I was actually surprised I could walk. So I was like, ‘Woo, I’m actually not as sore, I’m not hurting,’ ” the gymnast said.
Simone Biles’ Husband Will Be Allowed To Skip Some Training Camp To Go To The Olympics
The Chicago Bears just might be America’s team, as they are doing a solid for Simone Biles.
Biles stated on Sunday that the Chicago Bears are excusing her husband, safety Jonathan Owens, from a few days of training camp so he can attend the Paris Olympics and watch her compete.
“The Bears are actually granting him a couple days off from training camp, so he’ll be there, yes,” she said per USA Today. “For just a short little time.”
