‘All black podium’

[BWPodium]

In Simone Bile’s interview she said ‘it’s an all black podium for the first time, which is super exciting’

Whats your thoughts on this? Is it ok / positive thing to say? Unneeded? etc

I understand this is a first for woman’s gymnastics and a few years ago the sport was built around what looked like under fed teenagers so brilliant for the sport that it’s opened up to other body types and therefore makes a positive however, what about sports like 100m sprint that has traditionally always been tall African builds, if by any miracle three white men were on the podium, would saying this be acceptable?

@MummyLongLegsss What about the men's 100m?

What about it?

Has there ever been a white gold medalist?

Yes.

Would it be acceptable to say 'Oh look, all the men's 100m medalists are white. Hurrah!'

It would be odd considering white men haven’t been systematically excluded historically from the sport.

Most of them up until about 1980 were white.

@twomanyfrogsinabox "it's almost harking back to the bad old days when it was really difficult for non-white athletes to have any impact in many sports." It's still difficult. That's why it's important to say it.

I think I see the OP's very face value point (celebrating an all anything- podium looks like celebrating less diversity), and the wider point which is that this is actually a big breakthrough for diversity because of previous participation in gymnastics and how it is presumably becoming more inclusive at all levels (although I think it is pretty dismissive of female athletes for a PP to say it's something white girls do to look feminine).

Just a very direct comment from SB on gymnastics participation which she knows a lot about and race, no pussyfooting around. No equivalence to commenting on an all white podium due to well covered historical reasons. That wouldn't be something particularly notable or worth celebrating (I don't mean for the individuals, I mean as social progress).

I actually think that the diversity has made gymnastics more interesting to watch.
My dd has been glued to the gymnastics and is fascinated by the camaraderie among people who are competitors

Taking pride in sporting achievements should not be tainted by the colour of people's skins or their race. It just creates more division and detracts from celebrating their skill, talent and hard work at achieving success.

Essentially it's 'Well done for winning, especially as you're black/Asian/white', which is demeaning and insulting and only spoken by those with an agenda to stir up hatred.

@twomanyfrogsinabox it’s not the ‘bad old days’ for Simone, unfortunately. She’s personally been subjected to horrific, racist behaviour.

Because god forbid black athletes should have something that's solely their's when literally nothing else in the Olympics is or ever has been.

I think what is missing here is actual understanding of gymnastics specifically and why this is meaningful in this particular sport. Mens and womens artist gymnastics have historically been very very Eurocentric, with code of points (scoring system) even written to favour the white nations strengths. GBs Joe Fraser was the first black world champion ever for men in 2019. Dominique Dawes spoke about how she felt her (black) body was under more scrutiny and criticism than her white teammates when she was competeing. The black women also tend to face more public criticism with how they present themselves. These women are a representation of how the sport has changed for the better in so many ways, they should be celebrated.

I agree with this.

It really shouldn't matter.

And while it does there's racism in there somewhere.

Nothing wrong with her comment. Not along ago elite gymnastics was dominated by a certain type of girl - white and thin, very often with infantilized bodies. It is amazing to see the current diversity in the competition. I loved to see that podium yesterday, they all had different body shapes, different stories, girls everywhere will feel that there is space for them in that sport. Simone Biles is an absolute legend - not only she completely took the sport to the next level, as she is a great role model advocating for mental healthy, resilience and sportsmanship. She wanted that gold yesterday but she celebrated Rebeca.

Thank you for adding the context. It’s important to understand the history of the sport.

The criticism that Gabby Douglas faces over her bloody hair while winning golds!

Faced. not faces.

Are you white or black?

Do you really have to ask?!😅

I actually disagree.
I think it shows that despite coming from a disadvantaged background one can achieve if one is given the opportunity
Skill, talent and hard work is not enough if one is not given the opportunity to be recognised.

It is neither ‘demeaning’ or‘ insulting’ to recognise that barriers are gradually being broken down which allows for diversity in certain sports

Imagine being an Afro Brazilian girl in the favelas, from a big family like Rebeca, looking at what she's achieved!

It isn’t to stir up hatred. I am assuming you are white? As am I. Our white privilege has meant we have never had to feel like our ethnicity matters. If you grow up facing prejudice and discrimination because of your skin colour then it almost certainly does matter. They are skilled and talented….they will almost certainly have faced more discrimination though because of their skin colour than the white athletes. In a historically white dominated sport she is more than entitled to comment on the black athletes achievements. To pretend ethnicity and race do no matter is ignoring the issues that still exist in the 21st century.

Absolutely agree
Simone Biles is the embodiment of an Olympic champion
People could learn a lot from her

There is no "agenda to stir up hatred". Can you see hatred on here, or from Simone or anyone else, @SaintHonoria ? It's about celebrating success and achievement and recognition that for some, it's a harder road.

This

I absolutely loved how Simone and Jordan bowed to Rebeca. What a fantastic moment. And how sad that posters are calling it hatred.

Simone's comments are also a dig at Trumpist white nationalism, if anybody wants to read up on the black job comment.

https://apnews.com/gymnast-ferlito-apologizes-for-racist-comment-ea25cce2fcbe4ec794e0023c4981cb2c

Considering that Biles has had comments like this in her career, alongside more coded remarks about e.g. the Russian/Eastern European's "lines" and body types, it's just celebrating the significant shift in the last decade or so on what the judges/governing system of the sport deems acceptable or worth celebrating.

I can think of only three Black male gymnasts who have ever won an Olympic medal - Jair Lynch (1996), Louis Smith (2012 & 2016) and Fred Richard (2024).

I don’t think this comment was intended as anything other than an observation on the success of increasing black participation in this particular sport, and how three black medalists was a first for international gymnastics.