Simone Biles & Her Golden Girls Hit The BeachIn Rio As She Prepares To Make History

UK Daily Mail ^ | 15:40 EST, 21 August 2016 | By PEDRO OLIVEIRA JR. FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

[drewh]

If anyone deserves a beach day, it's Simone Biles and her Final Five teammates.

The US gymnasts traded their leotards for bikinis and enjoyed a day out at Rio's Barra da Tijuca beach Saturday.

Biles, Aly Raisman and Madison Kocian — part of the Final Five team that took nine medals in Rio — frolicked on the sand and took a dip in the ocean. Laurie Hernandez posed for a poolside picture with Biles earlier in the day. And Gabby Douglas, 20, who was not at the beach, posted a picture on Instagram of herself golfing with friends.

Biles, 19 — who will be flag bearer for Team USA at the closing ceremony — captured all the action on Snapchat and Instagram.

'Hey! Beach! Finally,' Raisman, 22, said in a snapchat video posted by Biles.

Together, the Final Five have won the most medals by any women's team since the Soviet Union took 10 at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Biles is only the second US gymnast ever to serve as flag bearer — and the first woman to do so. Alfred Jochim carried the flag into the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The Final Five won the all-around gold medal in the team exercises. Individually, Biles won gold in the vault, floor exercise and individual all-around, and a bronze in the beam event. Raisman won silver in the floor exercise and women's individual all-around. Kocian, 19, took silver on the uneven bars while Laurie Hernandez, 16, brought home silver on the beam.

[MarkL]

I recently read that the reason for so many wins by Team USA in gymnastics is the break with the traditional training styles, recently adding a lot of strength training, like weight work, where traditionally, gymnasts were very slim.

Looking at the photos, these young ladies look incredibly powerful and strong, far more so than gymnasts of the past.

Mark

[nutmeg]

They are sweet kids..Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez both have strong religious beliefs..Laurie tweets all the time passages from the Bible, same goes for Simone..Aly is a proud Jewish girl, her performances are always in tribute to the Israeli athletes murdered in Munich

Thank you for that reminder, Sarah! Actually, I didn't realize super-cute Laurie Hernandez often tweets Bible passages. That's wonderful They are all so sweet and talented. Great role models...

[MEG33]

What wonderful athletes these gymnasts are...I admire and am in awe of the dedication it takes to achieve such greatness.I loved watching the Olympics. I always do.

Rio is a beautiful natural setting.

[Sarah Barracuda]

So does Simone they both do it, sweet kids..So proud of all of them they did such an amazing job..Simone’s birth mother was a drug addict she was put into foster care and adopted by two great parents who raised her well..her life could have gone in the opposite direction but with the guidance of two adoring parents she made it so happy for her

[TalonDJ]

When girls start training incredibly had before puberty The onset of puberty is effected. Look at any female athletes in a sport that start training that young (Gymnasts, figure skaters) and you will see it.