Gymnastics

United States gymnastics legend Simone Biles will be joining NBC's The Voice and serving as a playoff advisor to Snoop Dogg, who is a coach on the show this season.

11-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is joining #TheVoice as a Playoff Advisor for Team Snoop! ✨

Watch @NBCTheVoice Monday at 8/7c on NBC. pic.twitter.com/In33TGO2UI

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) November 25, 2024

"We were able to riff off each other and give the artists the best insight going into the next round," Biles told the Associated Press after filming an episode with Snoop.

"We have the best experience and knowledge to give to these performers," Snoop added. "She's a performer. I'm a performer. We've performed under extreme conditions. We always do our best. But sometimes things happen behind closed doors that you don't know about. So, we're able to speak to those things and give them real reassurance."

Biles, 27, is a seven-time gold medalist at the Olympics, an 11-time medalist overall and arguably the greatest female gymnast in history. So yes, she's an excellent resource for performers who need to understand how to best handle pressure.

Team USA gymnastics star Jordan Chiles has not given up on her effort to reclaim the Olympic medal that was stripped from her following a controversial ruling.

"It's hard to tell yourself everything is going to be fine when we literally didn't do anything wrong. Everything was in the time that it needed to be," Chiles said during an appearance on NBC's TODAY show, her first live TV interview discussing the situation. "For them to come back and say it was four seconds too late when we have proof … I can only control what my truth is and I know that we were right."

Chiles was awarded the bronze medal in the floor exercise at the Paris Olympics after her coach Cecile Landi pointed out a mistake the judges made when determining the degree of difficulty for part of her routine, correcting her score.

However, on the last day of the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee announced that it would adhere to a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that Landi missed the one-minute deadline to protest the score by four seconds, dropping Chiles back to fifth place. The bronze medal was awarded to 18-year-old Romanian Ana Bărbosu.

Chiles said she still physically has the medal, but she is fighting to have the official results changed back. She has pursued legal avenues with her lawyers to have the medal returned, and she said there is video evidence that Landi made the scoring inquiry within the 60-second window. The 23-year-old explained why the medal is so important to her.

"It was like a cherry on top. My redemption tour going into Paris was 'Yes.' Coming back with a gold, coming back with the understanding that I was able to go out there and be the best version of myself," she said. "With this floor medal it was like 'Wow, I never expected myself to make a floor final.' Plus it was an all Black podium. That was history being made. I was very glad to be a part of."

Chiles added that she has not yet considered whether she will compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

"LA is in and out of my mind. I think right now, I'm just trying to take in what's happened from Paris and just take day by day," she said.

U.S. Olympic gymnast Suni Lee will take part in the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, the magazine announced on Monday.

Does the name ring a bell? Maybe that’s because Suni Lee’s reputation precedes her.https://t.co/jPa9CAYWfx

— Sports Illustrated Swimsuit (@SI_Swimsuit) November 3, 2024

"We are thrilled to launch our shoot season for the 2025 issue with an extraordinary lineup of powerful female athletes," SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said in a statement. "This remarkable group, featuring Olympic medalists, world champions, and record holders, embodies the next generation of all-stars poised to transform the world of sports. They defy stereotypes and champion equality, inspiring young girls to envision themselves as both athletes and leaders. At SI Swimsuit, we've always celebrated the future of women, and there's no better way to honor these remarkable achievements than by featuring them on the pages of our issue."

Lee, 21, has won two gold medals in her career—the first came at the individual all-around competition at the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), while the second was in the team competition during this summer's Paris Games. She also took home a silver (team) and bronze medal (uneven bars) in the 2020 Games and two bronze medals (all-around, uneven bars) in Paris.

She is already one of the most decorated gymnasts in United States history and will join a number of athletes—including sprinter Gabby Thomas, skier Eileen Gu and golfer Nelly Korda—in this year's Swimsuit edition.

"Nothing sets your heart on fire like being so determined for a goal and you to have one chance at it."

That was Simone Biles' mindset during the Paris Olympics, and Netflix is taking fans back to the Games with the return of the Simone Biles Rising docuseries. While the first two episodes were made available before the 2024 Olympics, the streaming company released the trailer for the third and fourth episodes Thursday:

The next two episodes will premiere on Oct. 25 and take fans behind the scenes as Biles adds to her illustrious resume with more medals at the 2024 Games.

That means inside looks at her training process, what she was thinking during the competitions, her family that includes Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens and her overall perseverance to further cement herself as the most decorated gymnast in history.

As the trailer hints at, there will also be a focus on the calf injury she had to fight through to take home more medals in Paris.

To Biles' credit, she battled through the injury and captured gold in the women's team event, women's all-around and women's vault competitions while also adding silver in the women's floor exercise.

After she won four gold medals and a bronze in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and a silver and bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Games, she now has 11 Olympic medals to her name.

Much of the focus in the first two episodes was about Biles' journey back to the sport after she withdrew from multiple events during the 2020 Olympics citing mental health. That means her success in Paris was something of a full-circle moment for the legend, and Netflix was there to capture the action as it unfolded.

Amid new footage that indicated a scoring inquiry for Simone Biles' floor routine at the 2024 Olympics was never registered, the superstar gymnast was able to brush it off to support Jordan Chiles' ongoing appeal.

Per Nancy Armour and Tom Schad of USA Today, footage submitted on Monday as part of Chiles' appeal indicated a scoring inquiry for Biles' floor routine in the final was never registered.

In response to a fan comment on Xabout the mix-up, Biles wrote she is "not mad" at the result and is more concerned about the outcome in Chiles' appeal:

honestly not a big deal for me, Rebeca had a better floor anyways 🫶🏾 upsetting how it wasn’t processed but I’m not mad at the results.

BUT JUSTICE FOR JORDAN 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
ya hear me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 17, 2024

The video submitted about Chiles' appeal shows Biles asking coach Cecile Landi if he's asking, meaning Laurent Landi—Cecile's husband and co-coach—to which Cecile replies, "He said he did."

Here is the video of Jordan Chiles’ inquiry with audio ⬇️

Cecile Landi appears to inquire within the 1 minute time limit, according to the time stamps, but the person receiving the inquiry seems to have trouble hearing it initially. pic.twitter.com/UfKI7tPBld

— Gymnastics Now (@Gymnastics_Now) September 17, 2024

Laurent is then heard speaking French before Cecile turns back to Biles and says, "They didn't send it" in reference to the inquiry.

Biles won the silver medal with a score of 14.133 in her floor routine, finishing .033 points behind Brazil's Rebeca Andrade. The U.S. superstar had the highest difficulty score (6.9) with an execution score of 7.833, but she was penalized 0.6 points for stepping outside of the competition mat.

Much of the focus after the final ended was on Chiles and Ana Bărbosu of Romania for third place. Chiles initially finished fifth for her routine with a score of 13.666, behind Bărbosu and Sabrina Voinea (both received scores of 13.700, with Bărbosu coming in third thanks to a higher execution score).

After Landi filed an inquiry on Chiles' behalf, the judges added one-tenth of a point to her score to move her into the bronze-medal position.

In response to a separate appeal from the Romanian federation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled the inquiry for Chiles' score was filed four seconds after the one-minute deadline passed.

The International Olympic Committee ruled on Aug. 11 that Chiles had to return her medal. The 23-year-old filed an appeal of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision with the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland on Monday.

After having her bronze medal revoked at last month's Olympics due to a technicality, Jordan Chiles filed an appeal in Switzerland's Supreme Court on Monday in hopes of getting her third-place finish restored, per the Washington Post's Emily Giambalvo and Jonathan Baran.

Chiles initially failed to reach the podium, but an inquiry increased her score by one-tenth and moved her into third place. Afterward, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Switzerland-based global body that settles sports disputes, stripped her of the medal after ruling that the inquiry was not made before the one-minute deadline.

Following the ruling, the International Olympic Committee awarded Romania's Ana Barbosu a bronze medal.

In the time since, United States officials have brought up issues with the hearing that led to Chiles being stripped of the medal, claiming the decision was "rushed," according to Giambalvo and Baran. CAS did not notify USA Gymnastics of Romania's appeal for several days, failing to make contact with the United States and Paralympic Committee until Aug. 10, the day of the hearing.

In a press release, Chiles' attorneys said the appeal asked the Swiss court to overturn the decision because the procedural issues violated her "right to be heard." The appeal also said the CAS refused to consider new evidence provided by the U.S.

"Every part of the Olympics, including the arbitration process, should stand for fair play," Maurice M. Suh, Chiles's attorney, said in a statement, via Giambalvo and Baran.

The statement also said Chiles' team will file another petition to the Swiss Court in hopes of earning a retrial.

The focus on the shifting landscape of college sports after NIL deals were made legal is often on high-profile sports like football and basketball, and how they've changed recruiting, the transfer portal, etc.

But gymnast and Instagram influencer Livvy Dunne offered a different perspective on the positive impact of NIL deals while speaking with GQ's Matthew Roberson, breaking down one of the misconceptions she sees the most:

Probably that it's ruining college athletics. Not for me and not for other women that don't have professional leagues! Most women's sports don't have professional leagues, so it's really important for girls to capitalize on their NIL while they're still in college.

Usually it's like an old man talking about football when they're complaining about this, but I think it's great for women, and I think that everyone deserves their rights to their name, image, and likeness. It's theirs! Put yourself in a student athlete's shoes, then you would understand. And it is life-changing. My life is so different now.

Dunne, a 2024 national champion on the LSU gymnastics team, has an estimated net worth at $9.5 million due to NIL deals and over 13 million combined followers on social media platforms TikTok and Instagram.

Her NIL experience is an outlier, of course, but for college athletes who may not have an avenue for going professional in their particular sport, the opportunity to make money on their talents while they can is a positive outcome of the NIL era.

Jordan Chiles may not have her Olympic bronze medal from the floor exercise competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she at least has quite the consolation prize.

She was a presenter alongside Flavor Flav during Wednesday's VMAs, and the musician presented her with a bronze medal clock as part of the awards show:

Flavor Flav presents US Olympian Jordan Chiles with a fake medal at the 2024 VMAs. pic.twitter.com/RcyB36I7Hp

— New York Post (@nypost) September 12, 2024

This wasn't exactly a surprise, as Flavor Flav showed off a bronze clock necklace designed for Chiles last month. The gymnast's mother, Gina Chiles, said she would show the post to her daughter since Jordan Chiles wasn't on social media at the time:

USA gonna Fight the Powers that be,,, in the meantime between time,,,
Imma always a man of my word @ChilesJordan https://t.co/evxFPV0YEd pic.twitter.com/rz72uZeWEz

— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) August 13, 2024

Thank you. Means the world. She's not on socials right now as you can imagine. I'll share it with her. 🫶🏽 https://t.co/HzavHHYxhp

— Gina Chiles (@gina_chiles) August 13, 2024

It was a lighthearted moment at the awards show for Chiles following an emotional interview with Moira Forbes.

"The biggest thing that was taken from me was the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person I am," she said during the inteview.

"The biggest thing that was taken from me was the recognition of who I was, not just my sport, but the person I am."

Olympic Gymnast @ChilesJordan spoke with @MoiraForbes about being stripped of her bronze medal at the 2024 #PowerWomensSummit. https://t.co/trq44G0BKt pic.twitter.com/QKbkpM8Ek8

— Forbes (@Forbes) September 11, 2024

Mason Leib of ABC News noted the interview was Chiles' first since she was stripped of her bronze medal. It was part of the 2024 Forbes Power Women's Summit in New York City.

The stripping of Chiles' medal at the individual floor exercise final was one of the most controversial developments of the 2024 Games. The American initially finished in fifth place but was then awarded a third-place finish and the bronze medal after her coaches appealed her score.

That meant Ana Barbosu, who initially won the bronze and had already started celebrating, moved into fourth.

However, the International Gymnastics Federation eventually gave Barbosu the bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided the Americans' appeal because it ruled the appeal was raised after the one-minute deadline to do so.

The CAS also refused to hear Team USA Gymnastics' appeal in the aftermath of that decision.

Chiles did win one gold during the 2024 Games as part of Team USA's team all-around triumph.

Brazil's Rebeca Andrade won gold in the floor exercise, while American Simone Biles won silver.

The MTV Video Music Awards are typically about celebrating the most successful recording artists going. This year's installment made sure to highlight a GOAT from a different arena.

Host Megan Thee Stallion called attention to a fellow Texan, gymnast Simone Biles, during her opening monologue. The rapper was dressed in an outfit inspired by the United States' leotards from the 2024 Summer Olympics.

She added that, "I deserve a gold medal for being a bad b---h."

FACT: @theestallion is making the #VMAs MUCH hotter 🥵 pic.twitter.com/LxSaGvoybX

— MTV (@MTV) September 12, 2024

Biles was already regarded among the greatest gymnasts ever before she made the trip to Paris. At this year's Summer Games, she added to her legacy by winning the individual all-around and vault competitions while helping the U.S. claim gold in the team event.

Megan Thee Stallion's shout-out is a testament to Biles' crossover success and her status as American athletic royalty.

Chad T. Richards, a 23-year-old former wrestler at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, was arrested as part of the investigation into the fatal shooting of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater gymnast Kara Welsh, the Whitewater Police Department announced on Tuesday.

Welsh, 21, died on Friday after she was shot multiple times at an apartment building near the university campus, according to the police.

Richards appeared at the Walworth County Courthouse on Tuesday, where a judge upheld his bail of $1 million after describing him as a "significant flight risk," Mariam Mackar reported for TMJ4.

The judge stated that Richards cannot physically make contact with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus if he posts bond, per CNN's Dakin Andone.

The police department recommended the Walworth County District Attorney's Office file charges against Richards including first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct while armed.

Richards has not yet been officially charged. The District Attorney plans to file charges by his next court date on Friday, Mackar reported.

Friends said Welsh and Richards were dating, 12 News' Erica Finke reported.

The police department's original report described a "23-year-old male" present at the scene of Welsh's death. The police wrote that investigations "determined that leading up to the shooting, an altercation had occurred between the two."

Welsh, a junior, was a three-time All-American gymnast who won a national vault title at the 2023 NCGA Division III National Championships.

Earlier this season she tied a program record with a 9.875 score on vault before helping the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater finish as runners-up at the 2024 NCGA championships.

Richards was listed on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling roster for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. His attorney confirmed he is a senior at the university, per Andone.