Simone Biles says her post-Olympics gymnastics tour will only feature women

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Simone Biles says her post-Olympics gymnastics tour will only feature women
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Simone Biles says her post-Olympics gymnastics tour will only feature women because she wants to spread a message of empowerment among female gymnasts.

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Biles spoke about her tour - the Gold Over America Tour (GOAT, for short) - in an interview published in Glamour on Tuesday.

The event is usually produced by the USA Gymnastics organization, but Biles announced she was taking over the 35-city tour in 2019.

"It's an all-girl tour for women's empowerment," Biles told Glamour. "It was a great year for women to speak out, and I think it's nice to keep the ball rolling on that and to have women feel happy, and find their love and passion for gymnastics again. I know the men were really upset, but it's my tour."

According to Biles, the tour will emphasize fun over technical achievements.

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"With what's happened with USAG, I just wanted it to be completely different, on my own terms," Biles told Glamour.

Biles is the only publcily known survivor of former USAG doctor Larry Nassar's abuse who is still competing today. Biles has been a vocal critic of how USA Gymnastics handled the fallout from Nassar (who is serving a 175-year prison sentence), calling for an independent investigation into the organization.

Biles has said she wanted to continue competing to be a voice for survivors of abuse.

"I just feel like everything that happened, I had to come back to the sport to be a voice, to have change happen," Biles said in an interview with NBC in April.

The GOAT tour figures to be a victory tour of sorts for Biles, who will be the heavy favorite in Tokyo. She has not lost a single all-around competition since she became a senior elite gymnast in 2013.

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