After what was considered by many to be a successful Olympics for Team USA, Simone Biles spoke out about the staggering television ratings for women’s sports at the Olympics.
Biles posted five pairs of eyeball emojis next to an image highlighting the achievements of women’s sports in Paris, with a heavy dose of Team USA.
The graph shows that more than 66,000 fans attended the opening match of the women’s rugby competition, setting a world record.
The U.S. women’s basketball team’s game against Japan drew 3 million viewers on Peacock and the United States combined, more than all the basketball games at the Tokyo Olympics, excluding the gold medal games.
The women’s Olympic soccer final between the US team and Brazil drew an average of 9 million viewers, making it the most-watched Olympic soccer match in NBC history.
Biles posted on Instagram about the staggering television ratings for women’s sports
Biles was one of the biggest stars at the Olympics, winning three gold and one silver medal
And to complete the picture, the live broadcast of the women’s team gymnastics final, in which Biles led the U.S. team to a gold medal, drew 12.7 million viewers on NBC and Peacock.
That number is more than the first round of the NFL Draft and all of last year’s NBA Finals games.
At 27, Biles was the oldest member of the U.S. gymnastics team and left Paris with four medals, three gold and one silver. She also cemented her status as one of the best American athletes of this generation.
The continued success has led to increased viewership, as the US women’s soccer team went undefeated in Paris and won its first Olympic gold medal since 2012. Team USA was eliminated in the men’s quarterfinals by Morocco.
Both United States basketball teams won gold and the US women’s rugby sevens team won its first-ever bronze medal.
Biles has not yet revealed whether Paris will mark the end of her Olympic career or whether she will remain fit enough to qualify for Team USA at age 31 when the spectacle takes place in Los Angeles in 2028.
