simone biles

  • Say Goodbye to Rio, Where Black Women's Bodies Were Celebrated

    Simone Biles is known for her body: its power, its capabilities and the heights to which it propels her. I am completely mesmerized by it. I’m not sure if it’s the beauty of her black body prancing; her short, muscular legs seemingly defying physics; or the ease with which she does it all—with a confident,…

  • Gabby Douglas and the Damning of Black Women

    In her two Olympic appearances, Gabby Douglas has ignited much discussion, both for her accomplishments and for what others perceive as her less-than qualities. On the very shallow end, we have the comments made about her edges—which, when you have a certain texture of natural hair, no matter how much you brush them or gel them…

  • Simone Biles Finishes Rio Olympics With 4 Gold Medals

    Simone Biles didn’t become the first female gymnast to win five gold medals in a single Olympics. However, the 4-foot-9-inch powerhouse joined a very small group of elite gymnasts when she snagged her fourth gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Games after coming out on top for the floor exercise, Time magazine reports. According…

  • Simone Biles Medals Up Again, Secures Bronze for Balance Beam 

    Simone Biles is taking home yet another medal from the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, securing the bronze Monday for the balance beam, the Washington Post reports. The bronze is Biles’ fourth medal of the Rio Games and the only nongold medal she currently has in her possession. The third-place finish marks an end to…

  • Simone Biles Continues Gold Streak, Wins Women's Vault

    Simone Biles, the world’s best gymnast, walked away Sunday from the women’s vault event with her third gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the Huffington Post reports. Biles led the U.S. women’s team, dubbed the “Final Five,” to a team gold Wednesday before snagging the all-around gold by a 2-point margin. Her win…

  • The Simones Sprinkled #BlackGirlMagic In Rio Last Night Like Bawses

    You know by now. Simone Biles rolled into Rio and put 100 percent into every line she dropped. Simone Manuel went out there and didn’t know she swooped into the history books by winning the women’s 100m freestyle in swimming. They are some bad women. I’ll bet if you go into their purses and pull…

  • Simone Biles Proves She's the Best, Wins Gold in Individual All-Around in Rio

    Simone Biles is continuing to stun us all with her graceful performances, snatching the gold in the women’s individual all-around in the Rio de Janeiro Games Thursday, the New York Times reports. She is literally the world’s best gymnast and also literally #BlackGirlMagic. Though that may not come as a surprise to those familiar with…

  • From Mike Brown To Simone Biles: How Yesterday Exemplified Black America’s Complicated Relationship With America

    “Complicated” has become a convenient catch-all to describe romantic relationships that seem to defy explanation. So much so that “it’s complicated” has become a popular way to synopsize them completely; distilling months, even years of context down to two words. It’s also frequently misused, as many — and perhaps even most — of the relationships…

  • Simone Biles, Team USA Take Gold in Rio 

    The “Final Five,” Team USA’s women’s gymnastics team, claimed victory Tuesday, winning gold in the team competition in Rio, NPR reports, defending its title from the 2012 Games. The team, headlined by Simone Biles, crushed the competition, winning by an 8-point gap, with Russia trailing in second place. The United States’ final score was 184.897 points,…