COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (November 13, 2024) – Reigning Olympic team champions Simone Biles (Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre) and Jordan Chiles (Vancouver, Wash./World Champions Centre) have been selected as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s (USOPC) 2024 Jack Kelly Fair Play Award recipients. The USOPC announced the selection Wednesday and will formally present the award at the USOPC Assembly. It marks the first time any gymnast has won the award.
The Jack Kelly Fair Play Award is given to an athlete, coach, team or official for an exceptional showing of fair play or sportsmanship in the past year. Biles and Chiles received the award in recognition of their celebration of Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade on the women’s floor exercise medal podium at the Paris Olympic Games.
Celebrating the first all-Black women’s gymnastics podium in Olympic history and paying homage to Andrade as she won her career sixth Olympic medal and second gold, the American duo bowed to the Brazilian on the podium, embodying the Olympic spirit and creating one of the iconic images of the 2024 Games.
As the Americans recalled in their post-event press conference in Paris, Chiles turned to Biles and said, “Should we bow to her?” Biles’ response: “Absolutely.”
“She’s such an excitement to watch,” Biles said of Andrade in Paris. “And the fans and the crowd always cheering for her – It was just the right thing to do.”
“She’s an icon and a legend herself,” Chiles added. “I feel like being recognized is what everybody should do when it comes to somebody who has put in the work, put in the dedication … why don’t we just give her her flowers? Giving it back is what makes it so beautiful.”
The Jack Kelly Fair Play Award was established by the United States Olympic Committee in 1985 to honor the late USOC President and Olympic medalist John B. “Jack” Kelly, Jr. For more information on the award, visit usopc.org/community-awards.