Simone Biles’ journey to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris might have seemed straightforward for someone of her ability, but Biles has stared down and overcome numerous challenges in recent years to qualify for her third Olympic Games. Because Biles has been in the public eye for so long, it’s easy to forget that she is only 27 years old — and age, along with experience, has made the superstar gymnast all the wiser.
Biles recently reflected on Aly Raisman, one of her former teammates, and how she treated her in past years — especially when the gymnasts competed to reach the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Biles is hoping to add to her medal count and make history in Paris this month — and she now recognizes how difficult it is to maintain such a high level over so many years.
Biles: Calling Raisman a “grandma” was a mistake
Back in 2016, Biles was a 19-year-old gymnast, about to take part in an Olympic competition for the first time. Raisman, an eventual six-time gold medallist, was the US gymnastic team’s “veteran” at 22 years old — which led to some ribbing, albeit good-natured, from Biles.
“I 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,” Biles said Monday.
Despite being “just” 27, Biles will enter the Paris Olympics as the oldest female American gymnast in seven decades. So she now has a keen understanding of Raisman’s mentality — and why she opted to walk away from gymnastics entirely in 2020
However, it’s not as if Raisman herself didn’t have fun with the jibe. A tweet from way back in 2016 showed Raisman making fun of Biles for falling asleep on a plane heading back to the States from Brazil — and she used the familiar grandma “insult” to roast her. The two gymnasts maintain a close relationship to this day.
