Simone Biles spoke out Friday in response to a viral video that featured a black female gymnast being passed over for a medal at an Irish gymnastics event, tweeting, “There is no room for racism in any sport or at all !!!!”
Over the weekend, a clip from a March 2022 medal ceremony at a Gymstart event in Dublin circulated on social media, which featured a group of young gymnasts waiting in line for their awards, with the athlete in question skipped.
The incident set off a frenzy on social media, with Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, weighing in.
“I would love to see @Simone_Biles reach out to this girl if she’s able,” an X user tweeted.
Biles then replied: “When this video was circulating, her parents reached out. It broke my heart to see, so I sent her a little video.
“There is no room for racism in any sport or at all !!!!”
Fellow U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles also addressed the incident, which she deemed “hurtful on so many levels.”
“Gymternet pls help me find this little girl… This is beyond hurtful on so many levels, I need you guys to find her pls… asap,” the Olympian posted Friday on her X account.
Gymnastics Ireland released a statement Friday on the matter.
“Gymnastics Ireland immediately contacted the family to express its regrets and to assure them that the incident would be investigated,” the organization said in a statement.
“… The official in question accepted fully that what had happened had not been acceptable but stressed that it had not been intentional. The official concerned said that upon realizing the mistake they immediately rectified it and ensured that the competitor concerned was presented with her medal before she left the Field of Play (FoP).
The statement added how the official “expressed deep regret for what they described as an honest error.”
“A written apology provided by the identified individual has since been issued to the competitor and her family,” the statement read.
The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation (GEF) and Gymnastics Ireland have also been in contact, according to the Daily Mail, with Gymnastics Ireland stating: “We remained engaged with the GEF through the autumn and winter months during which time our internal process was suspended. In February, we agreed to resume internally and proceed to the next stage of our process.”
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