Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles Reveal Classy Message Behind Olympic Bow to Rebeca Andrade

There were enough flowers to go around.
Simone Biles, Rebeca Andrade and Jordan Chiles celebrate their floor medals.
Simone Biles, Rebeca Andrade and Jordan Chiles celebrate their floor medals. / Photographs by Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated

Rebeca Andrade won gold in the women's floor exercise at the Paris Olympics on Monday. In order to take the gold home to Brazil, Andrade had to best Team USA's Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles after finishing behind the Americans in three other events during the 2024 Games.

When she finally did break through to win she was congratulated by Biles and then surprised on the podium as Biles and Chiles bowed. Biles and Chiles revealed the motivation behind the move while talking to the press after the event.

"She's so amazing," said Biles. "She's queen. And first it was an all-Black podium so that was super exciting for us. But Jordan was like should we bow to her and I was like absolutely. So we're like are we going to do it now and then that's why we did it. She's such an excitement to watch and then all the fans in the crowd, always cheering for her so it just, it was just the right thing to do. She's queen."

"She's an icon, a legend herself," said Chiles. "So I feel like being recognized is what everbody should do when it comes to somebody who's put in the work, put in the dedication. So yeah, in that moment I was like you know what, first off, again, yes it was an all-Black podium. Second off, why don't we just give her her flowers. She's given, not only has she given Simone her flowers but a lot of us in the United States our flowers as well. Giving it back is what makes it so beautiful."

An iconic moment shared by three iconic gymnasts that resulted in many iconic images. What more could you ask for?


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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.