No disrespect to anyone who shares the same name out there, but typically the first person who comes to mind when you hear “McKayla” and “Olympics” in the same sentence is former USA Gymnastics star McKayla Maroney.
This is for two very good reasons.
First, she was a member of the Fierce Five team at the 2012 London Olympics that won a gold medal in the team event. Second, she created one of the greatest memes ever with her unimpressed expression after winning a silver in her individual vault event.
She even got then-President Barack Obama to recreate the image.
But there’s another MyKayla out there, also a former USA Gymnast who caused a bit of a stir with her recent criticism of the current Olympics team. MyKayla Skinner also won silver on the vault at the Olympics, but that was in 2021.
You could see how it’s easy to confuse the two.
McKayla Maroney IS NOT MyKayla Skinner. And while that should be pretty easy to remember now, Maroney made it exceptionally clear with a comment on Simone Biles’ epic Instagram post slamming Skinner’s comments after winning the team gold medal on Tuesday.
OH MY GOD MCKAYLA pic.twitter.com/1ZJHXEAmAY
— jade (@mccuskerights) July 31, 2024
Referencing the NSFW nickname Biles bestowed on the 2024 USA Women’s Gymnastics team, Maroney made sure everyone knew her and Biles were still cool.
Now you can remember her for a third reason.