At 27 years old, Simone Biles is Team USA’s oldest female gymnast to compete at 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 offer an apology to Raisman, who was just 22 when she was the team captain at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“I definitely have to apologize to Aly for calling her grandma because, whew,” she said during the conference. “I feel like I’m way older now than me calling her grandma when 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, 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, she also explained her recovery process and how differently her body feels now in comparison to 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.
Biles continued, “So it takes a big part. So recovery, I just have to take a little bit more serious. Back in Rio, I could do anything. I’d never needed tape, nothing. I was just like a little hamster on a wheel, always 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 majority of her events.
