The 2024 Paris Olympics Gymnastics competition came to a close Sunday night. For the first time in gymnastics history, each podium space was occupied by a Black woman. The iconography is epic and potentially marks the end of an era for Simone Biles, the world’s most decorated gymnast of all time. After winning the gold in the vault, all-around, and the team final, Biles took the podium for what may be the last time as a silver medalist for floor exercise. Biles was joined by teammate Jordan Chiles, who scored a bronze medal for the individual event. Completing the trio of winners was Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.
Though Team USA athletes did not take home the top prize, their enthusiasm for the winner, Andrade of Brazil, was evident. Honoring Andrade as she took her place on the podium, both Biles and Chiles knelt, giving Brazil’s most decorated Olympian her due. The moment is being lauded as picture-perfect. The image will most likely join the ranks in epic Olympic iconography. The photo speaks to the sportsmanship of the 2024 gymnast class and could be seen as a passing of the torch from Biles.
Biles spoke highly of Andrade during the 2024 matchups, stating how Andrade’s talent level both pushed and unnerved her.
After her all-around win, Biles said, “I don’t want to compete with Rebeca no more. I’m tired. I’ve never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes and it brought out the best athlete in myself.”
BLACK ENTERPRISE cannot highlight a moment that will likely go down in the Olympic annals without harkening back to arguably the greatest Olympic photo ever. Track and field athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, American-born Black men, stamped their names in history for throwing up Black power fists on the Olympic podium at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
Amid the Civil Rights Movement, Black women and men marched and organized, and some were brutalized in the name of equal rights. Smith and Carlos, while chosen to represent the U.S., did not receive the same freedoms as other U.S. citizens. Smith and Carlos lifted the Black fist salute on an international stage as a way to amplify the message of Black Americans. Their message was clear as they stood in silent protest.
There was a price to be paid as Smith and Carlos were exiled from the remainder of the games and received harsh criticism once returning to the U.S. Both have spoken out over the years detailing the trials they faced due to their actions. Yet they endured.
The photo of Olympic greatness, persistence, and defiance is often referenced when speaking of memorable Olympic iconography. Biles, Chiles, and Andrade are in legendary company.
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