"Rodionenko’s best, doped up athlete couldn’t even dream of pulling off what Simone Biles has" - Fans react to Russian coach's comments on 26-year-old

Head coach of the Russian artistic gymnastics team, Valentina Rodionenko, has found herself in hot water after she implied that Simone Biles was undeserving of her 2023 World Championships medals.

In an interview with Match TV, Rodionenko was quoted as saying that she felt Simone Biles "has no great performance and wins only through difficulty".

Understandably, this rubbed quite a few of Biles' loyal fans the wrong way, with many taking to the internet to defend the Olympic gold-medalist.

One fan on X (formerly Twitter) stated that Rodionenko was being petty, and that even her best athletes couldn't keep up with Biles.

"The difficulty is the performance. Simone Biles performs incredibly complex stunts with ease and serenity. This petty resentment is inevitable when your peers can’t keep up, unfortunately. Rodionenko’s best, doped up athlete couldn’t even DREAM of pulling off what Simone has," they wrote.

Another person pointed out that Velentina's statements had racist undertones to them.

"She only wins through difficulty,” says the racist Russian. Now, if THAT ain’t the damn Black Experience, encapsulated. Keep going @Simone_Biles — we are proud of you. ✊🏽✊🏾 These dusty snow goblins are NOT ready for us," they wrote.

Here are some of the best fan reactions to Valentina Rodionenko's comments:

"I want to express my regrets over Simone Biles' victory" Valentina Rodionenko

Simone Biles had an amazing run at the 2023 Gymnastics World Championships held in Antwerp, which was her first international competition after a two year hiatus from the sport.

The 26-year old claimed gold medals in her floor exercise routine, all-around, team finals, and the balance beam. She also walked away with a silver in the vault event.

While most were focused on Simone's amazing strength and results after time away from the sport, Russian coach Valentina Rodionenko remained unimpressed. She even said that she felt Biles had no great performance.

"I want to express my regrets about Biles' victory. What is gymnastics? It's scary to watch it! Do you think there is at least some kind of aesthetic there - low? There is simply nothing to watch. She has no great performance, only difficulty. She only wins through difficulty," she told Match TV in an interview.

Adding to her statement, the Russian said that she would be reaching out to the international gymnastics federation regarding a change of rules in the current scoring system, where aesthetics would be prioritized over the difficulty of a skill.

"We will now submit these questions to the international federation. What should prevail? Beauty and high level of performance while respecting the rules. Or will we only follow the path of complexity? So what will artistic gymnastics look like? Surprise with tips? That's a big question," she said.

As of now, Simone Biles hasn't responded to Rodionenko's comments.