“Cracks Me Up”- Simone Biles Roasted Aly Raisman for Her Bizarre Feet Needs During Olympics

Published 06/30/2022, 10:15 AM EDT

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Gymnastics is a beautiful sport, riveting to watch, and awe-inspiring due to the high-level skills and techniques that athletes like Simone Biles perform. But, at the same time, it is incredibly dangerous. Gymnasts have many preparatory practices that help them prevent injuries and support their bodies.

The Final Five dazzled the world during the 2016 Rio Olympics, and they’ll be the first to tell you the importance of safety when practicing and performing routines. Though, according to the four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles, her teammates might have a flair for the dramatic.

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Simone Biles jokes with her teammates

It is a well known fact that gymnasts often injure themselves on every apparatus in gymnastics. Therefore, some prefer to prevent and alleviate injuries with pre-wrap tape, both during practice and competition. But how much tape is too much tape? 

In a hilarious tweet just a few weeks before she made Olympic history, Simone Biles compared her taping needs with those of her teammate Aly Raisman. She wrote, “the difference in the amount of tape we need for the Olympics cracks me up • Me (1) vs @Aly_Raisman (?)”

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And really if you look at the picture, it is impossible to say just how many tape rolls Raisman is holding in the (I count six) bags in her arms. It’s hard to imagine even half of that was used in the whole year! 

But we suppose there is always that one person on the team that needs more tape than the others. A captain is always prepared. One thing’s for sure though, Aly Raisman does not travel light.

Why do gymnasts need to tape their hands and ankles?

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Gymnastics is notorious for causing blisters, or “rips” as gymnasts prefer to call them. These are especially common after a long practice on uneven bars, high bar or parallel bars. The tape protects the bare skin of the hands from bearing the brunt of all that frictional force.

Gymnasts make ‘grips’ for themselves out of athletic tape, control swelling, and provide stability for injured joints. It also helps to prevent toe splits, which occurs due to skin tearing.

via Imago

Taping up the ankle using the figure-8 technique helps provide support but still ensures sufficient movement in the ankle. When gymnasts roll their ankles, ligaments can become stretched, making the ankle more likely to be injured. Who knew that something as simple as tape could do so much to help?

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Written by:

Mansi Jain

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Mansi Jain is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She has a Bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Mass Communication from the University of Delhi and has also previously interned for HT Media. She is always one mention of Yuzuru Hanyu away from delivering an hour-long speech about the athlete's legacy.
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Edited by:

Manaal Siddiqui