Simone Biles responded to her former US teammate MyKayla Skinner's comments. GETTY IMAGES

Simone Biles responded to her former US teammate MyKayla Skinner after securing Olympic gold in women’s gymnastics. Biles, now the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history with eight medals, led her nation to a commanding victory in the team final on Tuesday.

Leading up to the Paris Olympics, the US team, comprising Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, and Hezly Rivera, faced criticism from Skinner, who won silver in the vault final at Tokyo 2020.

"Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be," Skinner said in a YouTube video. "I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.

"A lot of girls don’t work as hard. It’s hard too because of SafeSport. Coaches can’t get on athletes which in some ways is really good but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be… a little aggressive, a little intense."

However, gymnastics star Biles seemed to respond to Skinner’s comments in her Instagram celebration post after winning her first gold in Paris. She shared a photo of her team with their medals and captioned it: "Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions."

Simone Biles has hit out at comments from former teammate MyKayla Skinner. GETTY IMAGES
Simone Biles has hit out at comments from former teammate MyKayla Skinner. GETTY IMAGES






Skinner has since apologized for her remarks, explaining that she was comparing the current Olympic team to the 2021 team, which was guided by the controversial coaching regime of Marta Karolyi.

"Upon reflection, I was comparing the 'Marta Era' to the current era," Skinner wrote on Instagram. "I am coming to terms with the fact that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Marta, which perhaps led to my hurtful comments. I take full responsibility for what I said and deeply apologise."

Skinner dubbed Team USA's new crop of talent 'lazy', before backtracking. GETTY IMAGES
Skinner dubbed Team USA's new crop of talent 'lazy', before backtracking. GETTY IMAGES

In a separate statement, Skinner issued an apology, saying, "I want to formally apologize to Team USA and to our gymnastics community for my comments during my recent YouTube episodes of the gymnastics Olympic trials."

"It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work. Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you.

"It is most important to me that the sport I love continue down the path of healing and ensures a positive environment for all. I wish you all the very best in Paris. I will be cheering you all on! Go Team USA!"