Simone Biles wants fellow Olympic champions to be given time to enjoy their winning moments.
After earning her third gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and answering questions about her future at a press conference, the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history issued a public appeal.
"You guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics," Simone, who has won seven Olympic gold medals and 10 overall since her debut at the Games in Rio in 2016, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Aug. 4. "Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for."
A day earlier, the 27-year-old came in first place in the women's gymnastics individual vault final, which followed her gold medal victory in the individual all-around competition and Team USA's collective No. 1 performance at the team final earlier in the week.
At an Aug. 3 press conference, Biles spoke about her Olympic future.
Asked if she had taken part in her final vault competition, Biles referenced her winning performance from earlier that day, saying, "Is this my last? Definitely the Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kind of nailed that one."
Biles then gave a hint about whether she would compete at all in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, which would mark her fourth Olympic run.
"Never say never," the athlete said. "The next Olympics is at home, so you just never know."
She added, laughing, "But I am getting really old."
While Biles is not the oldest Olympic champion, she is the oldest Olympic all-around winner in 72 years since Maria Gorokhovskaya competed at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 at age 30. And former Team USA gymnast Marie Margaret Hoesley was 35 when she took part in the same competition.
The oldest gymnast to compete in the Olympic Games is Uzbek athlete Oksana Chusovitina, who was 46 when she took part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Read on to relive some of the most emotional moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics...
Aug. 10: Sport Climbing
Gold medalist Janja Garnbret of Team Slovenia celebrates with silver medalist Brooke Raboutou of Team USA after they completed the women's Boulder & Lead final.
Aug. 9: Track & Field
First-time Olympian Sha'carri Richardson of Team USA looks on after winning her first Olympic gold medal by placing first in the women's 4x100m relay final.
Aug. 8: Track & Field
Team USA's Tara Davis-Woodhall embraces her husband and Paralympic athlete Hunter Woodhall after winning the women's long jump final.
Aug. 8: Canoe Sprint
Joan Antoni Moreno and Diego Dominguez of Team Spain yell in celebration after the men's canoe double 500m final.
Aug. 7: Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay
Spain's Maria Perez and Alvaro Martin pop champagne to celebrate their gold medals.
Aug. 7: Cycling
Kelland O'Brien of Team Australia is emotional after his team, also including Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn, won gold. The Austalian cyclists set a new world record with 3:40.730.
Aug. 6: Track & Field
TEAM USA's Gabby Thomas snaps a selfie with her partner Spencer McManes after winning gold in the women's 200m final.
Aug. 6: Track & Field
Cole Hocker of Team USA celebrates after winning the gold for the men's 1500m. Hocker won by .14 seconds.
Aug. 5: Pole Vault
Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis celebrates after setting a new world record in the men's pole vault.
Aug. 5: Badminton
An Se-young of Korea celebrates after defeating He Bingjiao of China 2-0 in their match.
Aug. 5: Surfing
Johanne Defay hugs Simon Paillard, her husband and coach, after winning bronze for France.
Aug. 5: Gymnastics
Simone Biles hugs an emotional Jordan Chiles after winning bronze for the women's floor routine final, marking Chiles' first individual Olympic medal.
Aug. 2: Gymnastics
Britain's Bryony Page is ecsatic after winning gold for the women's trampoline final in gymnastics.
Aug. 2: Fencing
Team Czechia's Michal Cupr, Jiri Beran, Jakub Jurka, Martin Rubes celebrate after defeating France for the men's bronze medal.
Aug. 1: Gymnastics
USA gymnast Simone Biles beams after winning gold in the women's all-around final, sporting her "GOAT" necklace.
Aug. 1: Tennis
Great Britain's Andy Murray—who announced his retirement before the Paris Games—tearfully bids farewell to the crowd after being eliminated alongside Dan Evans in the men's doubles.
Aug. 1: Table Tennis
Tomokazu Harimoto of Team Japan lets off some steam during his match against China's Fan Zhendong.
Aug. 1: Swimming
Men's 200m backstroke silver medalist Apostolos Christou of Greece gets emotional while standing on the podium.
Aug. 1: Tennis
Spanish tennis Carlos Alcaraz lets out a victorious scream after defeating Tommy Paul of Team USA in men's single.
July 31: Diving
Great Britain's bronze medalists Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson share a raw moment after the women's synchronized 10m platform diving final.
July 31: Soccer
Korbin Albert gets emotional after scoring a goal in the women's soccer game.
July 31: Swimming
Team Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem celebrates her gold medal in the Women's 100m Freestyle Final.
July 31: Swimming
Team USA's Katie Ledecky reacts to winning gold in the Women's 1500m Freestyle Final.
July 31: Swimming
French swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova cries tears of joy after seeing her silver medal-winning time in women's 1500m freestyle event.
July 31: Judo
Serbia's Nemanja Majdov (L) and Greece's Theodoros Tselidis (R) share a moment after their round in the men's 90kg round of 16 in judo. Tselildis, who beat Majdov, later won the bronze medal.
July 31: Sabre
Manon Apithy-Brunet (L) kisses her husband France's Bolade Apithy after his team beat Egypt.
July 31: Triathalon
Gold medalist Alex Yee of Team Great Britain and silver medalist Hayden Wilde of Team New Zealand share a subtle celebratory moment after crossing the finish line.
July 31: Rugby
Team New Zealand leaps for joy after beating Canada in the Women's Rugby Sevens Gold medal match.
July 31: Field Hockey
Agustina Gorzelany of Team Argentina celebrates her team's first goal in a match against Spain. Argentina ended up winning the match 2-1.
July 31: Shooting
Team Guatemala's Adriana Ruano Oliva gets emotional after realizing she's won the gold medal—her country's very first—in the shooting trap women's final.