I am as guilty as anyone of being Simone Biles-focused, and I make no excuses for that -- right or wrong, I am VERY invested in her feeling mentally and physically strong in Paris! -- but I do love us all being reminded that the USA Gymnastics team is full of badass women. Suni Lee won all-around gold in Tokyo and a bronze on the bars, Jade Carey won a gold on the floor, and they plus Jordan Chiles are the reigning team silver medalists. Hezly Rivera is our rookie but it's going to be so exciting for her to be on a team with four other women who know how to handle the spotlight and how to bolster the people around them -- and that's a big part of Chiles's appeal. As the profile in Teen Vogue notes, she's grown into a performer who can REALLY rally a crowd while also cheering on the women next to her. Jordan has a lot of valuable perspective in this piece, including about being a Black gymnast in a predominantly white sport -- Biles being the face of it notwithstanding -- and the discrimination she's faced based on race and body type. There's also this:
[...]
Some, she says, have called her antics dramatic, but that’s not it. “I’m not being dramatic. I’m being myself,” she says. “This is the personality that was given to me. I’m outgoing. How are you going to take something that was gifted to me?”
She had a couple rough days in Tokyo, but in the team finals she nailed down two routines in place of Biles that she hadn't even warmed up on; I can't wait to see what she brings after these three extra years of experience and self-confidence.
Having said that... am I nuts, or is the lighting here VERY off? I have a LOT of notes, actually.