"All-black podium" - Simone Biles' comments after women's all-around event at world championships go viral

In a widely shared video, Simone Biles can be seen cheering for the all-black podium of the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships that were held earlier this year in Antwerp, Belgium.

The podium was for the all-around competition and saw Simone Biles clinch gold. Meanwhile, Brazilian defending champion Rebeca Andrade soared to silver, and Biles' compatriot Shilese Jones won bronze.

This marked the first instance of all three medals, of the all-around event at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, being won by black gymnasts, and Simone was visibly overjoyed sharing the podium with Andrade and Jones.

In a now-viral video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by user @ungodIywests, you can see Simone Biles' excitement. The American can be seen embracing compatriot Shilese Jones, before telling her "all-black podium". Both Biles and Jones acknowledge their feat and Simone bursts out in giggles with a fist pump, while she jumps up and down. The video has now generated over 5.5 million views.

After the competition in Antwerp, the world champion spoke to Gymnastics Now on the significance of an all-black podium,

"We had all-black podium of girls, so I think that was amazing, black girl magic. So hopefully it teaches all the young girls out there that you can do anything you put your minds to, so keep training hard," she said.

Simone Biles at the 2023 World Championships

Day Nine - 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships

Simone Biles had a busy time at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, winning 5 medals at her first international competition since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The American won the gold in the all-around event with a dominant score of 58.399. The 2022 all-around champion- Rebecca Andrade took silver with a score of 56.766, while former silver-medalist Shilese Jones settled for bronze after a 56.332.

For Simone Biles, this medal finish holds significance not only because it was an all-black podium, but also because her gold at 2023 Antwerp comes exactly 10 years after she won her first all-around World Championships gold, which incidentally happens to be in Antwerp as well.

Speaking to Olympics.com on what it feels like to win a gold in Antwerp ten years after the first one, Simone said,

"I was emotional because 10 years I won my first Worlds, now we're back here. So, it was emotional. It means everything to me, the fight, everything that I've put in to get back to this place to feel comfortable and confident enough to compete."

With this win, Biles has claimed a total of 34 Olympic and World Championships medals, making her the most successful gymnast to ever grace the sport.