"To Simone Biles, these women are manly"- Riley Gaines' rant continues after 7x Olympic champ and former swimmer clash in trans athlete debate

Riley Gaines shared a series of messages for American gymnast Simone Biles on social media over the inclusion of transgender women in women's sports. Gaines is a conservative political campaigner and has been vocal about her stance against trans women participating in women's sports.

The pair have been clashing online after Gaines made a comment about a transgender player on the Minnesota High School softball team.

Gaines was a competitive swimmer who represented the University of Kentucky. She was a 12-time All-American, and rose to fame after she tied for fifth place with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Championships. She became an active advocate against the participation of transgender women in women's sports after Thomas initially recieved the fifth-place trophy.

Simone Biles responded to Gaines' tweet about Marissa Rothenberger, a Minnesota high school softball player. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist called Gaines "sick" for her stance. In response, Gaines posted a picture of Lia Thomas, and wrote:

"To Simone Biles, these women are manly, but this guy is a beautiful woman lol"

Gaines would then react to a USA Today article about how Biles had stood up for the transgender community, writing:

"She hardly "stood up for the trans community", but instead just personally attacked someone who stands up for women and girls. Prepare for an astronomically embarrassing ratio."

Gaines would also write about Biles' testimony about being a victim of sexual abuse by Larry Nassar after the gymnast called the former swimmer "sick" for campaigning against transgender women. She wrote:

"Simone Biles when she had to endure a predatory man Vs Simone Biles when other girls have to endure predatory men"

Gaines continued to discuss the issue with more posts and reposts on her X account.

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Riley Gaines on her race against Lia Thomas which led her to advocate against transgender women in women's sports

Riley Gaines at the Turning Point Inaugural-Eve Ball Held In Washington, D.C. - Source: Getty

Riley Gaines discussed her race against Lia Thomas, where she tied for fifth place and initially did not recieve a trophy for it. This event would be the catalyst for Gaines to campaign against the inclusion of trans women in women's sports.

In an interview with PragerU in August 2024, Gaines said: (3:01 onwards)

"I realize we had tied down to the 100th of a second, which is pretty rare when you're racing for a minute and 40 seconds and not even one/100th separated us."

She would go on to say that after Thomas recieved the trophy ahead of her, it affected her emotionally, saying (4:14 onwards):

"It was feelings of betrayal, it was feelings of belittlement. I can't even put into words the amount of frustration, confusion, and heartbreak that I felt."

Riley Gaines represented the University of Kentucky for four years, and retired from competitive swimming after the end of her collegiate career.