Date uploaded: 2021-06-24 20:18:25
It is already a unicorn-like occurrence for one gym to send four athletes to the U.S. Olympic Trials but, in a sport that has long struggled for diversity, it is even rarer for all of the gymnasts to be Black and brown women.
It does not hurt that World Champions Centre's (WCC) star is Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast the sport has ever seen. And knowing that Bilesโ parents own the gym, and that it would be a welcoming environment to gymnasts of color, provided an added bonus for Jordan Chiles, a favorite to make the Olympic team.
โIf you go out there, and you do what you're supposed to do, it shouldn't be about your color, about your ethnicity, about your age, about how skinny or what weight you are. It should just be because of what you went out and showed the world," Chiles said.
Though the last two Olympic champions โ Gabby Douglas and Biles โ were Black women, gymnastics remains a predominately white sport.
"The most exciting part," Simone Biles said, "is seeing the kids just come and say hi to us and be so excited because we look like them and they think they can do it and they can do it because we've proven that you can."
๐ : Go to the link in our bio to read more about how Simone Biles' gym is changing the face of gymnastics.
๐ธ Cecile Landi, AJ Mast (@apnews), Jamie Squire (@gettyimages) | #simonebiles #gymnastics #olympictrials #worldchampioncentre #jordanchiles