Why Does Simone Biles Wear a Goat? Here's What the Farm Animal Represents
Published June 8 2021, 1:48 p.m. ET
If you ask anyone who the best female gymnast is, chances are they will tell you, "Simone Biles!" without hesitation. The 24-year-old athlete boasts a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals and has successfully landed moves in competitions that most gymnasts wouldn't dare to attempt.
On June 6, 2021, Simone won her seventh all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas — a feat that no has ever pulled off before. In addition to nabbing the all-around title by 4.7 points, she placed first in the vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, and third in the uneven bars. Simone also qualified for the Olympic Trials.
On June 7, Simone tweeted how thankful she was following her latest win: "Hard to put into words how I’m feeling but I still have more work to put in. Excited to have the opportunity to compete in Olympic Trials in a few weeks. Thanks everyone for the endless support, it means the world to me XO."
Why does Simone Biles wear a goat on her leotard?
While Simone was busy dominating events left and right at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, plenty of people noticed a peculiar emblem on each of her leotards: a goat made of rhinestones.
This isn't the first time she's rocked the design. But why a goat? And what does it mean?
No, Simone isn't obsessed with the farm animal — nor is she a proud goat mom. It's pretty straightforward, really: The goat stands for G.O.A.T, or "greatest of all time."
No one seems to be arguing with this bold assertion, either.
This isn't the first time Simone Biles wore a goat on her leotard.
Simone first debuted her goat leotard at the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships held in Kansas City, Mo.
Evidently, some people had criticized Simone for wearing a leotard with her last name on the back at the U.S. Classic a month prior, when her World Champions Centre teammates' leotards didn't have their last names. Adding a goat at the next competition was for her "haters," she explained.
“A lot of the athletes in professional sports have their last name and it’s something they have a lot of pride in wearing, just like when we put USA on our chest,” she told Olympic Channel. “We have a lot of pride in that.”
The reason her teammates' leotards had been different, for the record, was because Simone's had already been made before anyone realized that her teammate Olivia Hollingsworth's last name wouldn't fit.
“With the goat, it was just funny,” Simone said at the time. “We were seeing all these comments [after Classic], we figured if the haters can take a jab, we do a jab back. But in a good way, in a fun way.”
We doubt that the goat will be making an appearance at the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which are set to take place July 23-Aug. 8, 2021. But we're still pumped about seeing the G.O.A.T. gymnast, herself, shine on the mat!