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South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is savoring the moment as she watches the 2024 Paris Olympics as a spectator. The four-time Olympic gold medalist is dedicating her time to supporting the US athletes participating in the competition.
Following a historic gold medal win by gymnast Simone Biles on Thursday, Staley glowingly praised the six-time Olympic gold medalist's latest accomplishment on X/Twitter:
"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA GOAT SIGHTING!!! Simone Biles #ParisOlympics2024," Staley tweeted.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Columbus, Ohio native made history as the first American woman to win two Olympic All-Around medals and the first woman from any country to achieve this feat since Czech Republic's Vera Caslavska. Additionally, Biles secured another gold medal as a member of the United States Artistic Gymnastics team.
With that, her total Olympic medal count is now nine, including six gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals.
Here is the list of Simone Biles's six Olympic gold medals:
- 2024 Paris: All-around
- 2024 Paris: Team
- 2016 Rio de Janeiro: Floor exercise
- 2016 Rio de Janeiro: Vault
- 2016 Rio de Janeiro: All-around
- 2016 Rio de Janeiro: Team
Besides Dawn Staley, several other athletes praised Biles for her milestone win. WNBA rookie Angel Reese congratulated Biles on X as well:
"SIMONE SAID F AROUND AND FIND OUT! OKAY SISTAAAAA," Reese tweeted.
Dawn Staley on the complexity of coaching top talents
Team USA's Olympic women's basketball team is filled with superstar players like Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum and others. Coaching such a talented roster requires tactful management, which can be quite challenging for a coach, according to Dawn Staley:
"Yall just so yall know it’s not easy coaching this talent filled team….virtually impossible to play 12 players. It’s all about combinations. Managing combinations within the game is extremely difficult. Let’s be patient with the process. And trust our coaches!" Staley said after Team USA's 87-74 win over Belgium at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Head coach Cheryl Reeve is positive about the team's mentality and is confident in her squad's ability to go and win yet another Olympic gold medal for Team USA (via Star Tribune):
"If you want to win gold, you have to beat the USA," Reeve said. "So maybe teams use more resources, start preparation earlier. We’ve seen that, for sure. For most people, they believe it's a foregone conclusion USA will win gold. That’s a false viewpoint."
The United States has two wins out of two at the 2024 Paris Olympics so far and will face Germany next in the final group stage game on Aug. 4 at Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Lille.
