Simone Bileshas nothing but respect and admiration forMyKayla Skinner.Although Skinner initially thought her Olympic journey had already ended after shefailed to qualify for any event final, she ended up filling in for Biles after USA Gymnastics announced that she had withdrawn from the vault final.
On Sunday, Skinner, 24,finished secondbehind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade in the women’s gymnastics vault final — and Biles was on hand tocheer her on.
Afterwards, Biles — who has beendealing with air awareness issuesand mental health pressures — gave her friend a shout-out on social media.
“GO @mykaylaskinner2016,” she wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a shot of herself watching her pal from the stands. “I’m so freaking proud of you.”
Simone Biles/Instagram
Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Skinner said that after her heartbreaking loss during qualifiers, it was Biles whourged her not to leave Tokyo.
“I was actually kind of going to get on a plane to go home,” Skinner said. “I wasn’t expecting any of this to happen. I was like, ‘They’re going to be fine [without me], they’re going to be good.’ And then, Simone was down on the floor after team finals and had told Cecile, like, ‘You need to text MyKayla to make sure she doesn’t go home in case she needs to step in.’ "
Skinner, who found out on Saturday that she would be stepping in to replace Biles on the event final, added that it’s helped to have Biles and the rest of the women’s gymnastics teamthere in person to cheer her on.
MyKayla Skinner and Simone Biles.Jamie Squire/Getty
“It was seriously cool to see her love and support and her cheering us on,” she told reporters. “And I knew she was going to be the loudest one in there tonight because she’s like, ‘I want you to make podium. I want you to medal.’ "
“She’s just been so awesome in the last couple of days,” Skinner continued. “And after everything she’s gone through, it’s really cool to see how strong she’s being.”
Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner.Jamie Squire/Getty
Bileshas since exitedfrom every one of her event finals except the balance beam, which is scheduled for Tuesday. While Biles has yet to make a decision on if she will compete, Skinner thinks fans may still get to see her in action.
“I think so. Yes,” she told reporters: “I don’t know for sure. It’s kind of up to her. So that’s the game plan.”
After her big win, Skinner also got another very important congratulations from husband Jonas Harmer.
“The medal wasn’t won tonight, but was won every morning when she got up and went to practice even though all parts of her body hurt. It was won every moment she didn’t give up despite injuries, illness, postponement, and every setback in the books,” he added. “Words can’t describe how much she inspires and motivates me and how proud I am of her. For now I am excited to finally enjoy some alone time with my wife… Gymnastics has had its fair share for long enough now 😊 I love you MyKayla!”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
