A goat-shaped pendant to ward off the ghosts of Tokyo and reaffirm who the greatest of all time is: Simone Biles, the goat (the goat), in English an acronym for greatest of all time. The American gymnast wore the jewelry after winning her sixth gold medal at the Olympics, her second at the Paris Games following her triumph in the team event against Italy. “It’s a little celebration, people love it. They always call me goat, so I thought it would be really special if I wore one,” she said after winning at the Bercy Arena. “Haters hate it, so I love it even more. It’s just a special part of me. In the Olympic village, I also have a stuffed goat. A sort of reminder. Like, ‘You can go out there and you can do it. You’ve done it before. So let’s go.’”
Simone Biles after the second gold: “Three years ago I didn’t think I would step on a mat again”
The comeback of Simone Biles
It really works. The pendant, designed by Janet Heller Fine Jewelry, has 546 diamonds embedded in it. A recurring theme in Biles’ story, as during the 2021 national championships, she competed wearing a leotard with a goat sewn on it. In short, the criticisms from detractors are fuel for her success. She had already demonstrated this after the team event in Paris. After the gold medal, the 27-year-old posted a photo on Instagram with the other stars: Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera. The caption reads “unskilled, lazy, Olympic champions.” A response to recent comments from MyKayla Skinner, a former American gymnast who won silver in vault in Tokyo, who had questioned the talent and dedication of Biles’ teammates.