At the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics 2016, something unique happened that has never happened before. There was a delay in the proceedings of events at the ceremony but the reason for the unexpected delay has never before been heard of. The reason, as it turned out was, that USA’s gold medal winning gymnast Simone Biles was getting stopped by fellow athletes for a selfie.
Video footage of the ceremony showed the US flag bearer in the ceremony, Biles, reportedly being stopped by her fans for a picture. The 19-year old ended the Olympics with four gold medals and one bronze medal and was swamped by demand for selfies at the Maracana Stadium.
Biles was also seen responding positively to the requests of her fellow athletes as she displayed the famous “Biles smile” while posing with them.
The closing ceremony also marked the end of an outstanding two weeks for the young gymnast where she created history. The American became one of the most successful athletes at the Games as she led her national team to a second consecutive team gold medal at the Games by winning the all-round title.
The closing ceremony selfie session was dubbed as "Simone Selfie Central" by NBC's Mary Carillo, who described a "conga line of people" asking for a #simoneselfie. The selfies were noticed so much that it ended it up trending on Twitter.
But it was USA’s President Barack Obama who led in congratulating Biles for her performances at the Games. He tweeted:
The New York Times Magazine also wrote in their column about the gymnast star, “Simone Biles, in all of her petite, air-defying athleticism, was the ultimate breakout star of the 2016 Olympics. And on Sunday night, during the closing ceremony, it seemed every top athlete from around the world wanted a selfie with her.
“Athletes from various countries kept stopping Biles during the ceremony to take the perfect selfie with her.”
The demand of the athlete was such that it led to some delay in the ceremony. It was also reported that the athlete was nervous about carrying the flag of her nation as she stands at 4ft 8in (1.42m), and the flag was about twice her size.
The gymnast had told reporters before the ceremony, “I'm afraid the flag is going to be too heavy for me. Because Michael Phelps is so much taller and he seemed to carry it so easily and I'm very short so I'm a little worried about that part but I think they'll guide me through it."
Biles won five medals at the Rio Games, four of which were gold and that tally equals those of Nastia Liukin in 2008, Shannon Miller in 1992 and Mary Lou Retton in 1984. Some American newspapers have also described Simone Biles as the best gymnast of her time.
