"Black girl magic" - Simone Biles on Rebeca Andrade and Shilese Jones completing all-black podium after winning all-round gold at world championships

After winning the all-round gold medal at the World Gymnastics Championships, Simone Biles has expressed pride at sharing the podium with two other black women.

On Friday, October 6, Biles clinched the gold medal with 58.399 points. Defending champion Rebeca Andrade and 2022 World all-around silver medallist Shilese Jones won the silver and bronze medals respectively, making it an all-black podium.

The American, who now has a record 34 world and Olympic medals, took to social media later to reshare of photo of the three medalists and captioned the post:

"BLACK GIRL MAGIC"

Later, speaking to Gymnastics Now, Biles expressed her joy at sharing the podium with Andrade and Jones.

"We had all-black podium of girls, so I think that was amazing, black girl magic. So hopefully it teaches all the young girls out there that you can do anything you put your minds to, so keep training hard," she said.

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"I'm excited for what's to come" - emotional Simone Biles takes pride in achievements, looks forward to future

Simone Biles at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

Thanks to her two gold medals at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, Simone Biles has become the most decorated gymnast in history.

Her latest achievements have come a decade after she clinched her first world medal at the same venue, making her the first gymnast to achieve success 10 years apart.

Biles, who was visibly emotional after the event and on the podium, stated that she has worked hard to regain the confidence to compete at the highest level, after taking a mental health break following the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"I was emotional because 10 years I won my first Worlds, now we're back here. So, it was emotional. It means everything to me, the fight, everything that I've put in to get back to this place to feel comfortable and confident enough to compete," she said. (via olympics.com)

The 26-year-old further stated that she has proved her doubters wrong with her twin gold medals and that she is looking forward to an exciting future.

"It still proves to myself and other people that I can do it, so I'm proud of the work that I've put in to get to this point, and it's just exciting that I just keep going up, up each and every year, so I'm excited for what's to come," she added.