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Witnessing Her Unfulfilled Dream, Simone Biles Celebrates 11-Year-Old Cowgirl Make Black History

Published 03/06/2024, 2:33 PM EST

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The gymnastic world sang praises of “BLACK GIRL MAGIC” when Simone Biles, Rebecca Andrade, and Shilese Jones shared the podium at the 2023 World Championships. Biles earned her sixth World all-around title, while Andrade secured silver and Jones stood with bronze. At Stars Gymnastics recently, on a regular Monday, kids stood wearing brightly colored leotards while the pro gymnasts of different skin colors flipped through the air at the back.

This scene was enough proof that years of torment were finally coming to a halt. But today, Biles surfaced with another passion of hers, but there’s a twist that hints at a black podium again.

Simone Biles lauds a young cowgirl for making waves in the equestrian way

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She resorted to her X handle and posted a photo of Kortnee Solomon, who made history by being the first rider of color to enter a national telecasted competition. Her caption says, “YES MA’AM. go girl go girl!!!! when I was younger I used to want to be a cowgirl so bad & someone told me there was no black cowgirls, so I hung my cowgirl hat up! LOOK NOW WAHOO! GO KORTNEE. BLACK GIRL MAGIC!!!!”. She repeated her celebrated statement “Black girl magic” again, and we could feel every bit of it. Coming back to Solomon, she came out as the sole fourth-generation cowgirl from Texas who took her skin color to great heights, defying standards, at the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo.

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Simone Biles, the gymnastic stalwart, always had a penchant for equestrian. On one Valentine’s Day, which she celebrated with her husband in person, the couple sported rodeo-wears. Oftentimes, the 26-year-old makes headlines donning cowboy hats or Roper boots. However, this is not the first time that the Olympian stood as the strongest fort.

Biles backs athletes of color in utmost solidarity

In a Dublin events ceremony, a young black girl was denied a medal, when all of her fair-skinned teammates received one each. A video from 2022 that resurfaced in the latter half of 2023 caught the attention of several kind hearts, especially mental health advocate Simone Biles. She took to her social media handle to write, “When this video was circulating, her parents reached out. It broke my heart to see, so I sent her a little video. There is no room for racism in any sport or at all !!!!”

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The young girl from Ireland may have seen a ray of hope when Biles’ video to her said, “I wanted to say I am rooting for you from here.” As the 7x Olympic medalist continues to cement her status as a benign athlete, she’s also eyeing the Paris Olympic Games. Just a matter of 4 months to catch sight of a spectacle.

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Written by:

Agnijeeta Majumder

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Agnijeeta Majumder is an Olympic Sports writer at EssentiallySports. Being a former sprinter herself, Agnijeeta takes a specific interest in field events. She covers track and field, equestrian sports, alpine skiing, and gymnastics.
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Edited by:

Himanshu Sridhar