Simone Biles hailed 14-year-old Kortnee Solomon, who became the first black cowgirl to compete in a nationally broadcast rodeo in 2021.
This recognition coincides with Women’s History Month, and Biles has previously stated that she aspired to be a cowgirl growing up.
Solomon’s adventure began at age 11 when she competed in the first nationally broadcast Black rodeo in 2021. Despite sometimes being the only female contender at competitions, Solomon stays undeterred and believes she is unique.
“Before I run, I like to be by myself and think about what I am going to do in that run,” she remarked of her mindset before a competition.
Biles, inspired by Solomon’s narrative, recounted her early desire of becoming a cowgirl, but abandoned it after learning there were no black cowgirls.
The legendary gymnast praised Solomon on X and wished her a great career.
“YES MA’AM. go girl go girl!!!!, Biles wrote last week.
“When I was younger I used to want to be a cowgirl so bad & someone told me there were no black cowgirls, so I hung my cowgirl hat up! LOOK NOW WAHOO! GO KORTNEE. BLACK GIRL MAGIC!!!!”
She expressed optimism that future generations of aspiring cowgirls would not be discouraged in the same way she was.
Despite being one of the most decorated gymnasts in history, Biles faced unique hurdles throughout her career. Biles’ vault routine (round-off half on, layout double full Yurchenko 1/2 on, layout 2/1) is named after her.
While Biles is the only gymnast to have successfully executed this routine, she admits she finds it tough to do so now.
A fan recently published a photo on social media depicting the difficulty involved in completing the trick.
Biles responded by saying she “literally” couldn’t perform the skill in that manner anymore.
“The way I literally cannot do it anymore,” she explained.
The 26-year-old has the opportunity to become the most decorated gymnast in Olympic history by winning a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Despite missing the recent Winter Cup owing to her qualification for the National team, Biles is preparing for the 2024 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship.