British broadcaster Piers Morgan congratulated gymnast Simone Biles after the U.S. women earned gold in the team competition at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday — and he even took the time to admit he’d been wrong to criticize her after she dropped out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“Congrats @simonebiles on becoming the most decorated American gymnast of all time. I was too harsh on you in 2021 when you quit the team finals,” Morgan said in a post to X, also sharing a photo of himself with Biles. “You’re a great champion, and have since proved me wrong in the best possible way — by letting your supreme talent do the talking.”
Congrats @Simone_Biles on becoming the most decorated American gymnast of all time.
I was too harsh on you in 2021 when you quit the team finals. You’re a great champion, and have since proved me wrong in the best possible way – by letting your supreme talent do the talking. 👏 pic.twitter.com/Zw5wWzQ4WH— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 30, 2024
Biles dropped from competition during the Tokyo Olympics, saying at the time that she needed to step back and focus on her mental health after getting “the twisties” — a dangerous condition in which gymnasts are unable to tell where they are while flipping and twisting through the air.
“It’s so dangerous,” Biles explained during an interview later that year. “It’s basically life or death. It’s a miracle I landed on my feet. If that was any other person, they would have gone out on a stretcher. As soon as I landed that vault, I went and told my coach: ‘I cannot continue.'”
Morgan criticized Biles’ abrupt exit from the competition, saying in a Daily Mail op-ed that she had let down her teammates and her country. He was equally harsh on X, saying, “Are ‘mental health issues’ now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport? What a joke.”
Biles, now the most decorated American gymnast in history, will compete later this week for the all-around title.