Topics: Instagram, Olympics, Twitter, Viral, Simone Biles
Simone Biles might be the most decorated athlete and the biggest name in gymnastics right now but that's not what has people talking right now. Instead, people are recontextualizing her brilliance with an old picture of her from back in 2017.
Simone Biles, so far, has eight Olympic medals under belt and is riding high after her latest success at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
On July 30, Biles and her teammates, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera - won gold for Team USA group final for women's gymnastics.
With this came praise and adoration from people all over social media.
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As well as, this people have gone digging into Biles’ past and found a brilliant photo with her and NBA and Los Angeles Laker legend, Shaquille O’Neal.
In case you had never seen Biles off the performance mat, she is actually quite petite, standing at 4ft 8ins. Shaq, on the other hand, stands at roughly 7ft 1ins, so the pair of them together is quite the sight.
The resurfaced photo was shared on Twitter by Biles back in 2017 when the pair were snapped together at a Super Bowl event. Amazingly, Biles barely even passes the waist of the former NBA player. Looks like the gymnast was even wearing heels in the photo as well.
“On a gymnastics floor, Simone Biles has jumped up to 12 feet, which means she could jump over Shaq. Mind blown,” one person commented.
“Mind you at USAG trials Simone Biles reached 12 feet in the air during her floor routine. Her body cleared 7’4”, meaning she could jump over Shaq’s head with ease. Really wild to think about when you see them next to each other,” another wrote as they shared the iconic photo.
“Simone Biles is a giant in the world of gymnastics, but she looks just a little bit smaller in a fun throwback pic of her posing next to former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal. Congrats Simone & team USA!,” a third commented.
“I grew up idolizing the Magnificent Seven, the US's 1996 Olympic team. And Simone Biles is so far beyond anything I've ever seen before. The greatest gymnast of all-time,” praised another.
The love for Biles is also more than justified as she has stunned at this years' olympics and currently stands as the most decorated US gymnast of all time, having secured her eighth medal - one more than Shannon Miller.
The 27-year-old won her first Olympic gold back in Rio 2016 as the American team exceeded the competition.
