“This is definitely our redemption tour. I feel like we all have more to give,” Simone Biles had said last month during the Olympic gymnastics trials. And how did they give that? On the night of July 30, the now 38x Olympic and world medalist, along with her teammates Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera, not only won the team final (score:171.296), but did that with nearly six points clear of the silver medalist Italy (165.494). And guess what, not once did they fall weak, holding onto a strong lead across all the rotations.

Pure dominance no? And that only speaks of years of unseen blood and sweat and never-to-be-known sacrifices. But what if someone questions those? That is exactly what MyKayla Skinner did after the trials. The 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist, spelled out in a now-deleted YouTube video, “But besides Simone, I feel like the talent and depth just isn’t what it used to be,” triggering a row. A night that kind of nullified Skinner’s opinions, fans shook up her comments once again.

Back then, MyKayla had further added, “I mean, obviously, a lot of girls won’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.” This, including the rest of her remarks, had sparked a fire. Posting on threads, Simone Biles wrote, “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform,” while Jordan Chiles’ mother took to X to express, “Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That’s something…” Although Skinner did issue an apology, the fans did not spare her then. And they did not show any mercy to her this time as well.

And why not? Look at the team how they destroyed the field! The US women started off with a solid vault routine. Chiles (14.000) and Carey (14.800) started the show before Simone took over. The queen somewhat played it safe, avoiding her signature Yurchenko Double Pike. But as she stuck a high-scoring Cheng, it earned her 14.900 landing the Americans with a 1.434-point lead over 2nd-placed China. Next up were the uneven bars, where Simone had submitted the new Weiler-Kip to be named after her. Will she do it?

Simone skipped that routine, probably in favor of the team’s interest. Despite that, she landed with an impressive 14.366, considering the bars are widely regarded as her weakest event. Chiles (14.400) and Suni (14.566) sealed the rest of the job with a comfortable 3.102 point lead over Italy. The balance beam went little awry for the Americans.

Chiles fell on her front pike before coming back strong pulling off a 12.733 score. Making up for that, Lee (14.600) and Biles (14.366) stood up to the occasion, holding on to the lead. In fact they further extended it to 3.602 points after three rotations. Like London and Rio, the team kept the floors for sealing the deal.

Lee (13.533) and Chiles (13.966) set the tone with their dominant performances. While the team already looked untouchable, they were in no mood to loosen the ends. Simone once again shone through with her trademark difficult tumbles and gravity-defying moves to Taylor Swift’s Ready for It?. Although she stepped out of bounds twice, the mere difficulty of her routine was enough to secure her the top score of 14.666 in the American team.

“I think we all had something to prove from Tokyo. And tonight we did just that,” Simone did not conceal her triumph after the victory. The fans also did not miss that proof to once again remind Skinner how her remarks now seem wide off the mark.

If this is not dominance, then what else? Fans ask

Let us not forget that Four of the five members of this US team are returning Olympians. And apart from Hezly Rivera, all are more or less in their ripe ages. Many of them might not return for the LA2028. In a sport defined by flexibility and agility, keeping themselves fit over a period of four long years to return again on the Olympics stage itself speaks volumes about their hard work and grit.

Keeping that in mind, one fan wrote, “‘the USA has no depth’ wins team final by almost 6 points lol a true go f**k yourself to mykayla skinner <3″ While a second tagged her and questioned, “@mykaylaskinner thoughts on Team USA’s ‘work ethic??’ 🥇” However, the former gymnast appears to have maintained her silence for now.

One agitated fan demanded, “i want a tear stained apology to every member of the US women’s gymnastics team written with feather and ink” from MyKayla Skinner for doubting their work ethic. If you talk about that, first turn your eyes to Suni Lee. Reeling with an incurable kidney disease, the Auburn gymnast did not even think that she could come back for Paris. It was only in January when her doctors gave her the green signal to start training.

This means that she had merely six months to pull herself up. Even after that, she had to avoid rigorous training, keeping in mind her disease. Despite that, she secured a second place in the all-around competition in last month’s trials that booked her spot for Paris. Her bursting into tears tells everything about her dedication and attachment to the sport.

Not only Suni alone, all the members of the team have their own stories of getting over their struggle to stick to the sport they have given all. Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey navigated the difficult balance between collegiate and elite gymnastics which are widely different from each other. Let us not overlook newcomer Hezly Rivera.

The teenager who started gymnastics at the age of five cruised through a grueling schedule with six hours of training a day and hours of school just to chase her Olympic dream one day. Not only that, she and her family moved from New Jersey to North Texas only to train at WOGA. No one knows how many countless hours she has spent at the gym to best the likes of Simone Biles and Suni Lee on the beam, tying Joscelyn Roberson for the top score at the trials. Someone might present that as a proof of depth in the team!

One fan wrote, “MyKayla Skinner sitting at home wondering what a gold medal moment feels like.. guess these girls DID work hard enough.”Well, this was perhaps directed at Skinner’s narrow gold miss in Tokyo. As she settled for the vault silver, Rebeca Andrade bagged the first Olympic medal for Brazil in women’s gymnastics.

Also, Skinner had taken a jibe at Suni Lee, saying how some girls fell twice and still ended second all-around in the Trials feels crazy to her. Thus, a Lee supporter chimed in with, “When Suni does the ‘I guess we’ll never know’ tik tok I hope she tags MyKayla Skinner.” Indeed, they feel that this triumphant squad has just earned the flexing rights with their glistening gold. While, another one wrote,“@mykaylaskinner just incase you were still confused, this is what strong work ethic looks like! #OlympicGames #Gold #USAWG”

What do you think of these reactions? Let us know below.