The five Paris-bound gymnasts had yet to get over the victory cheers. Years and months of blood and sweat had finally paid off. But then dropped the bomb that brutally landed them on their feet to face doubts about their abilities.

“The girls just don’t have the work ethic,” alleged Mykayla Skinner, the 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist. She elaborated, “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be. A lot of girls don’t work as hard.” This comment was a real shot across the bow, aimed at the current Olympic Gymnastics Team, which includes Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera.

Since then, the debate has been ongoing, with Biles, Jordan Chiles’s mother, Kathy Johnson Clarke, and many others giving Skinner a taste of her own medicine by strongly refuting her claims. Amidst this heated discussion, Shawn Johnson, a four-time Olympic medalist in gymnastics, threw her hat in the ring to share something interesting about Biles and Aly Raisman.

On July 3, 2024, Johnson joined an interview with Yahoo Sports on YouTube, where she spoke with Caroline Fenton. Johnson praised the current crop of the US women’s gymnastics team for raising standards on the mat compared to previous years. Their burgeoning talent didn’t go unnoticed and was brought to light by her. What truly stole hearts was her response when asked about the 2008 Olympic team.

She described the current team as a breath of fresh air, contrasting it with the toxic, survival-of-the-fittest environment she experienced when she competed at 16 in 2008.

Johnson elaborated, “Back when I was competing at 16, it was definitely a toxic environment. Everything was survival of the fittest in a lot of the coaches’ minds, or the government’s minds for USA Gymnastics. It didn’t have this atmosphere of preserving the longevity of athletes, and that’s why you would see people retire at the age of 16, 17, 18, only go to one Olympic Games, and never try again.”

But now the tables have turned and for that, she credited Simone Biles and Aly Raisman for revolutionizing gymnastics as they completely “change the entire sport”, modernizing its approach, and fostering an atmosphere that preserves and protects the longevity of athletes. How did they flip the script, you ask?

Well, this all started back in the 2016 Rio Olympics, when the young and energetic Simone Biles was just 19 years old at that time. She competed with a flourish at such a nascent age, which is an ideal time for most gymnasts. At the same time, Raisman was 22, the oldest among her teammates. The rest of their teammates were 20 or younger.

Even then, Biles used to playfully refer to Aly Raisman as “grandma” because of her age. Even though Raisman retired back on January 14th, 2020, when she was 26 with 6 Olympic medals. But fast forward eight years to 2024, and Biles finds herself in a similar position as Raisman.

As she heads to the Paris Olympics, with already 7 Olympic medals, she is now the oldest among her teammates, stepping into the shoes of the “grandma” she once joked about, proving age is just a number. That has also made her the oldest female American gymnast since 1950 to head to the Olympics. Adorned with that, Simone is also performing the duties of being the most decorated gymnast on the team.

Simone Biles and Co. speaks of talent and support amid controversy

In the Olympic trials, Simone Biles was seen continuously cheering and instructing her teammates. After the meet when she was asked what made her do that, the mentor self of Simone came out. She passionately stated that she has been through it all. She knew very well what might have been going on in the minds of her teammates. So, she did not just come and go back with her flowers. She was there throughout to “lighten the load” of her teammates. The outcomes are visible.

Four gymnasts of the Paris Olympic team are repeaters. That only speaks of the talent and support they receive from each other, which made them return as a unit. 16-year-old Hezly Rivera is probably one more instance of that nurturing environment in the present gymnastics scenario that Shawn Johnson pointed out. The chance to rub shoulders with four Olympic medalists with a GOAT at the forefront will only sharpen her skills. That might make her come back and take up that mentoring role in the far future.

All these eventually raise questions about the correctness and validity of Skinner’s claim. So she had to take a step back. After sparking controversy, MyKayla Skinner issued an apology.

“I feel like a lot of you guys had misinterpreted or misunderstood exactly what I meant or had said. A lot of the stuff that I was talking about wasn’t always necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it and I’m so proud of them.” She clarified that her comments were more about her experience in her own gym. Despite her apology, the backlash continued.

Well, this apology came after Simone Biles commented, “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” Even Jordan Chiles’ mom, Gina, took to X and commented, “Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That’s something…”

Not only this, even Kathy Johnson, a former gymnast weighed in on X, advising, “My advice is to focus on all the positive and special aspects of the Five Phoenixes. Let the unpleasant ‘turd’ lie in its own stinkiness. If the owner won’t clean it up after being asked, acknowledge it for what it is and avoid it. If you’ve encountered it, wash it off.” This ongoing debate remains a hot potato, but Shawn Johnson added a breath of fresh air to the conversation. It now remains to be seen if the squad can brush aside the negative vibes in the Parisian arena.