The growing feud between USA Olympic gymnasts and MyKayla Skinner
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MyKayla Skinner and Simone Biles of Team United States pose for a photo in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
MyKayla Skinner, former Olympian and University of Utah gymnastics star, is in an escalating feud with Simone Biles and other USA gymnasts days after the team won gold in Paris.
Why it matters: The dispute highlights the sharp generational change in gymnastics culture as the sport tries to correct a pattern of past abuses against athletes, many of whom rise to elite status as young teenagers.
Catch up quick: Skinner, who won a silver medal for vault in the 2020 games (hosted in 2021 due to the pandemic), said in July in a now-deleted YouTube video that 2024 Team USA gymnasts "don't have the work ethic" of past athletes.
- She added that, besides 39-time Olympic and World medalist Simone Biles, this year's team lacks "talent" and "depth."
The intrigue: The American Fork resident also subtly criticized SafeSport, an organization that aims to prevent sexual, physical and emotional abuse against athletes.
- That oversight has made coaches "really careful what they say, which in some ways is really good, but … you do have to be a little aggressive, a little intense," Skinner said.
The big picture: Skinner's comments have renewed conversation about controversial past training practices — especially after the 2024 team won the gold medal Tuesday under the training regimen that Skinner derided.
The other side: Biles immediately pushed back, and this week celebrated the team's victory with an Instagram photo captioned, "lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸."
- Skinner then blocked Biles on social media, Sports Illustrated reported, citing social media posts Wednesday by Biles and her teammate Jordan Chiles.
- Biles went on to win gold in the women's all-around Thursday with teammate Suni Lee taking bronze.
Zoom in: Biles famously exemplified the sports' renewed attention to athlete health and safety in 2021, when she withdrew from Olympic competition after suffering the "twisties" — a potentially dangerous sense of disorientation — during a vault.
- "I have to do what's right for me and focus on my mental health," she said at the time.
What they're saying: "When an athlete reminisces about one of the most abusive coaches in gymnastics history, suggesting her abusive model was necessary for work ethic, we have a problem," former gymnast Rachael Denhollander posted last month on X.
- Denhollander was the first woman to publicly accuse former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of sexual assault.
Skinner initially said her comments were misrepresented, but then posted an apology on Instagram, saying, "It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes."
- She said she was comparing the "Márta era" — former national team coordinator Márta Károlyi has been accused of abusing athletes — to the "current era."
- "I am coming to terms that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Marta that perhaps led to my hurtful comments," Skinner wrote.
Flashback: During her three years at the U., Skinner won NCAA championships for floor exercise and vault, and became the NCAA record-holder for consecutive routines without a fall.
- Skinner has long been a controversial figure in gymnastics: She's faced allegations of poor sportsmanship and been accused of sharing a racist post on social media in 2016.