Simone Biles, fresh off her seventh U.S. title, announced today that she will headline the “Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour,” which will stop in Columbus, Ohio, at the Nationwide Arena on October 19, 2021. Biles is a four-time Olympic gold medalist and the GOAT (greatest of all time) icon in gymnastics.
“I adore the sport of gymnastics, and I want to help create a show that portrays the pure thrill of performing,” Biles said. In honour of the “gold” that exists in all of us, “Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour” combines athletics and entertainment.
Biles will be part of a stellar lineup of female gymnastics superstars for this performance.
In addition to Laurie Hernandez, who won gold and silver in Rio in 2016, the other members of the team include Morgan Hurd, who won three gold medals at the Tokyo World Cup in 2019 and 2020, Morgan Hurd, the 2018 NCAA National Champion from UCLA where she achieved 10 perfect 10, Peng-Peng Lee, a qualifier for the Tokyo Games from Jamaica, Danusia Francis, and 8-time U.S. National Team member Jordan Chiles.
More gymnasts, according to the show’s producers, will be included in future iterations. They call it “a high-energy, gymnastics-meets-pop-concert spectacle with a soundtrack from today’s hottest hitmakers.”
The concert would feature “career highlight and personal videos and a team of gymnastic dancers under LED video displays and lights,” in addition to the outstanding routines done by each gymnast.
There will be messages of “empowerment, positive body image, mental health awareness, self-confidence, and ‘letting the gold inside each of us shine'” for young women and girls throughout the show, which is sure to be entertaining and inspiring in and of itself.
Tickets
Admission passes will be available beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 11, 2021.
Talents to Keep an Eye On
Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum, and MyKayla Skinner, all medal contenders at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will compete alongside Biles.
There are a total of four Olympians in the show: Chellsie Memmel (2005 world all-around champion), Laurie Hernandez (2016 Olympic team champion) (Hernandez also has a silver medal in the balance beam event), and Aly Raisman (2008 Olympic team silver medalist).
Ellie Black, a three-time Olympian from Canada, and Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, a French Olympian, are also featured.
Morgan Hurd, the 2017 global all-around champion, Shilese Jones, a member of the U.S. national team, and Katelyn Ohashi and Nia Dennis, all of whom were gymnasts at UCLA before becoming internet sensations, round out the ensemble of gymnasts.