Olympic Gymnastics Had Its First All-Black Podium

This year’s Olympic gymnastics were full of emotional moments, but one of the most powerful actually took place off the mat. On Aug. 5, Team USA’s Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles shared the first all-Black podium in Olympic gymnastics history, alongside Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. With Andrade taking home the gold medal for women’s floor exercise, Biles and Chiles decided to bow on either side of Andrade at the historic podium ceremony in a particularly poignant act of sportsmanship.

“I love Rebeca, she’s absolutely amazing. She’s an amazing person and [an] even better gymnast,” Biles said in a follow-up press conference. “I can’t say enough good things about her. She keeps me on my toes, she makes me want to perform better.” In the same interview, Biles revealed that it was actually Chiles’s idea to bow to Andrade at the ceremony. “First, it was an all-Black podium, so that was super exciting for us, but then Jordan was like, ‘Should we bow to her?’ and I was like, ‘Absolutely,'” Biles said. “It was just the right thing to do.”

The impact of an all-Black podium was not lost on Chiles, whose bronze placement would have marked her first individual Olympic medal (it was later stripped away due to a scoring challenge. For her, bowing was an act of respect — a way to acknowledge all of her competitor’s hard work. “[Rebeca is] an icon, a legend herself, so I feel like being recognized is what everybody should do when it comes to somebody who’s put in the work, put in the dedication,” Chiles said in the post-podium press conference.

Viewers were quick to express their appreciation on social media, with one commenter writing, “The talented US ladies show what many of us here think — [that] there is room to appreciate more than one great at the top.” With Andrade having grown up in poverty, Biles becoming an advocate for mental health, and Chiles speaking out about the racism and body-shaming she’s faced, all three athletes have overcome massive hardships to get to where they are today.

Andrade looked back on the the all-Black podium in an Aug. 13 interview with Brazilian TV program “Mais Você,” saying, “It was amazing. I think they understood that it was a very special and important moment for me, and at the same time for us. There were three black women there representing so many things. It was so special, it was historic, it had never happened before,” per a Reddit translation. “I think it wasn’t just a tribute to me, but to all the girls, women and people who had worked so hard to show that it’s possible — that it can happen, that we deserve to be there. And because it was a special moment for me, because I believe they really understood it too, that’s why they did it. It was sensational.”

Andrade went on to say that, although they’re technically competitors in the Games, the athletes all have a very supportive relationship. “We’re opponents in the competition, but there’s no rivalry,” she said. “Simone has said it several times and so have I. We support and encourage each other.”

Ultimately, this moment on the podium was a historic snapshot of Black women uplifting and supporting one another, even in the midst of competition. “Yes, it was an all-Black podium — second off, why don’t we just give [Andrade] her flowers?” Chiles said at the press conference. “Not only has she given Simone her flowers, but [she’s given] a lot of us in the United States our flowers as well, so giving it back is what makes it so beautiful.”

Chandler Plante is an assistant editor for PS Health & Fitness. Previously, she worked as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributed to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group. In her free time, she overshares on the internet, creating content about chronic illness, beauty, and disability.