'This niche gymnastics feud is my exact area of interest.'

To get up to speed on everything Paris 2024 Olympics, check out our Olympics hub page. We've got you covered.

At the Paris Olympics, Simone Biles became the most decorated Olympic gymnast in history.

But she's also just a human; a human who likes a bit of drama. This woman continues to gift us with SO MUCH. 

And coincidentally, extremely niche gymnastics drama is totally my thing. Between the vault and floor work to the strict rules and chaotic music choices, gymnastics is a feast for the senses. 

Ever since I watched Stick It in my formative years, the iconic gymnastics 2006 teen comedy, I've become obsessed with the elite sport and the petty drama that spills from it. 

Gymnastics is punk, get with it. Image: Stick It. 

I crave this kind of niche drama and gobble it down like a packet of Double-Coated Tim Tams. 

This Olympics, I have been truly FED. 

Not only has Simone had a spectacular games, but the icon along with the rest of the Team USA's women's gymnastics team won the gold medal at the Olympic final.

But back to the drama of it all. 

Biles posted a photo of herself with teammates — Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera — along with a caption that was a clear dig directed at a former teammate. 

In the caption, she wrote "lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Simone Biles (@simonebiles)

The reference to disparaging comments being made about Team USA is a callback to MyKayla Skinner's controversial statements she made on YouTube. In a video, she said "I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be. I mean, obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard. The girls just don't have the work ethic."

Those eight words were enough to set off the entire team. 

If you're wondering who is this Mykayla Skinner and how did we get here? We've got you covered. 

Simone Biles and Mykayla Skinner feud, explained.

MyKayla is an American former artistic gymnast who was an alternate for the 2016 Rio Olympics team and won the silver medal on vault at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was held in 2021. 

Long before finding Olympic glory, Mykala became a divisive figure in gymnastics. She was known for having a 'bad attitude', a characterisation made by fans due to her reaction during tournaments when she often didn't hide her disappointment. 

She was also perceived as cocky for lip-syncing along to routines which, umm... doesn't sounds kinda cool to me. 

Mykayla Skinner would go on to win the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Image: Getty. 

But the general vibe that she had negative energy took a darker turn in 2016 when she was named as an alternate in the Olympic Trials for Rio, a position that Mykala disagreed with and made her opinion known in a series of retweets. In one retweet, someone photoshopped her face onto the body of two-time gold medallist Gabby Douglas (who made the team) alongside a series of racist emojis.

The retweet caused significant outrage leading Skinner to apologise. "I'm so sorry if I offended anyone. I was in the wrong by retweeting that tweet! I’m so grateful to be part of the team! Go USA," she said. 

But Biles and Skinner appeared to be on solid ground by the time the Tokyo Olympics came around. MyKayla went to the Olympics in an 'event specialist' position (whatever that means???), but after Biles pulled out of the game, she stepped in to tackle the vault and won the silver medal. 

According to ESPN, Biles was rooting for Skinner to see her on the medal podium with the icon commenting on her Instagram "I'm so freaking proud of you."

Skinner had nothing but kind words to say about her teammate. "With Simone, we're the OGs ['Olympic Grandmas'] of the team, and to just have her support, and her having to step out of finals, and her just pushing me along every single day to help me to place on that podium has been so cool," Skinner told ESPN at the time.

BFFs forever??? Sadly, no. 

MyKayla Skinner and Simone Biles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Image: Getty. 

Earlier this year in July, Skinner posted a YouTube video to address the chosen gymnastics team representing the US for the Paris Olympics. In the since-deleted video, Skinner said, "Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be," she said.

"I mean, obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard. The girls just don't have the work ethic."

The backlash was huge, prompting Skinner to claim her words were 'misinterpreted'... sure Jan! 

"I feel like a lot of you guys had misinterpreted or misunderstood exactly what I was meaning or had said," Skinner said in an Instagram story. She said her sentiments weren't "necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it and I'm so proud of them."

At the time, Simone posted on Threads, which sounded a lot like a subtweet of Skinner, writing "Not everyone needs a mic and a platform." 

The 2024 gymnastics team representing Team USA. Image: Getty.

This brings us back to this week as Simone described the winning Team USA as women as "lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions."

Team USA member Jordan Chiles commented "and that’s on period!!" as another teammate Suni Lee added "put a finger down if Simone Biles just ended you."

US gymnast legend McKayla Maroney did not mince her words. "It doesn’t get more iconic than this.. She f’d around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologise just to redeem my first name," she posted. Woah.

Other US Olympians, both past and present, also flooded the comments on Simone's post, with Michelle Kwan, Nastia Liukin and Laurie Hernandez among those to make their support known.

Simone doubled down with a post on X, writing "oop, I've been blocked" alongside a string of laughing emojis.

Drama, drama, drama! 

If you come for the queen — and her four gymnast girly pals — you best not miss. 

Feature image: Getty. 

Watch the Olympics on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every event ad-free with 4K and international multi-language channels. Go to Stan.com.au/Olympics for more info.