Gymnastics
When gymnastics meets pop — Simone Biles launches Gold Over America Tour
Pop and gymnastics rendezvous in Simone Biles' star-studded GOAT tour spanning 35 cities that focusses on the 'golden' spark within all of us.
Gold Over America Tour will star Simone Biles and many other G.O.A.T gymnasts
Blending entertainment with athletic splendour seems to be the jam of star American gymnast Simone Biles who launched her grand Gold Over America Tour (GOAT) that will span over 35 cities and be the celebration of female power and excellence and highlight the 'golden' power present within everyone. Biles, who has been championing the cause of mental health ever since her Tokyo sojourn, will look to make the Gold Over America Tour a mix of real, inspiring as well as the surreal and dreamy as a star-studded list of gymnasts will tour with her on the show displaying their world-class gymnastic skills.
It has been a busy couple of months for seven-time Olympic medallist and star American gymnast Simone Biles ever since the Tokyo Olympics concluded. After turning heads with a slew of red carpet appearances ranging from the Video Music Awards (VMA) to the Met Gala, Biles also made it to the list of TIME Magazine's 100 Influential people and got heralded by 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, as well. Not everything has been fun and games on the radar of one of the most popular Olympians as Biles also testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee against Larry Nassar, the former doctor of the national team who has sexual abuse charges levied against him.
Opening night of @Athleta Presents @GoldOverAmerica was EPIC #! I hope to see you at future shows 🌟https://t.co/QIklCj9B1A pic.twitter.com/cQWs6MI5VD
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 22, 2021
Unlike the tour that followed 2016 Rio Games and was conducted and produced by the USA Gymnastics, this show will be independently produced and definitely more grand and opulent than the 2016 outing.
For the love of gymnastics and entertainment
The 24-year-old gymnast is one of the best the sport has ever produced and in an effort to give back to the sport that has given her so much, Simone Biles wants to celebrate the joy of performing and promoting the magic of gymnastics.
"I love the sport of gymnastics and wanted to help create a show that celebrates the pure joy of performing," said Simone Biles. "I believe there is GOLD inside of us all and it's time to let that GOLD shine," the 7-time Olympic medallist said.
IT'S SHOW DAY !!!! 🌟💛🤩 LETS G.O.A.T GIRLS 🐐 @GoldOverAmerica @Athleta pic.twitter.com/ss46hNf63U
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) September 21, 2021
After a triumphant run at the 2016 Rio Games, Simone Biles was expected to repeat history at Tokyo and there was unbelievable pressure on the G.O.A.T gymnast to fetch gold from the Japanese capital. However, Biles suffered from twisties - a medical condition specific to gymnasts where they lose the sense of where their bodies are in mid-air and withdrew from four events, causing a huge uproar on mental health. Her Tokyo outing saw her returning with a lone but memorable bronze from the balance beam event, where the 25-times World Championships medallist fared brilliantly, after overcoming all odds.
While Biles is yet to decide what it is that she will be doing once the tour ends and a big question mark hanging over whether she will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, fans fear that the Gold Over America tour might be one of the final times that they are seeing the star gymnast perform in front of them.
The Gold Over America Tour has an enviable list of performers who will be touring with Biles, who is the headliner of the shows. Tokyo Olympics medallists Jade Carey and MyKayla Skinner will be present alongside past Olympic and U.S. national team members Laurie Hernandez, Chellsie Memmel, Morgan Hurd, Nia Dennis (a UCLA alumna ) and Shilese Jones. French Olympian Melanie de Jesus dos Santos and Canada's Ellie Black also are scheduled to perform on the tour, that is already a commercial success thanks to the big names.
Mixing pop with athletics, the tour is going to be a full-on entertainment package but also have other impactful bits in store that will truly celebrate every athlete and tap into their 'golden' power. "There's a lot of entertainment, but I think we want to put some realness, some authenticity into it, some rawness, to know that we're still human and we're here to help everybody out there," Biles said in a Zoom interview with the Los Angeles Times, "But also for everybody in the audience to walk away feeling like they have a piece of gold in them. I think that's really unique," she mentioned.
