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Over the weekend, Olympian Simone Biles<\/strong><\/a> found herself in an unusual competition, facing off against former college athlete turned conservative political activist Riley Gaines<\/strong> in a war of words. The two found themselves in a heated debate<\/a> on X about trans athletes in women\u2019s sports, an argument that took the internet by storm.<\/p>\n Biles ripped into Gaines after the conservative pundit disparaged a championship-winning high school softball team, intentionally misgendering the team\u2019s 17-year-old trans star pitcher. \u201cYou\u2019re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race,\u201d Biles wrote<\/a>, referencing Gaines\u2019s past as a D1 athlete. \u201cStraight up sore loser.\u201d<\/p>\n Biles, of course, is a world-famous gymnast with 11 Olympic medals to her name (seven gold, two silver, and two bronze). She has multiple gymnastics skills named after her and is the most decorated gymnast of all time, regardless of gender.<\/p>\n Gaines is\u2026well, who is she? What race did she lose? And how did she wind up embroiled in a war of words with the greatest gymnast of all time? Here\u2019s everything you need to know about Riley Gaines.<\/p>\n Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2000, Gaines is the daughter of two collegiate athletes, Brad<\/strong> and Telisha Gaines,<\/strong> a football player and a softball player, respectively. She was a multisport athlete who won a Little League championship as a child. But ultimately, she chose a different sport to pursue: competitive swimming<\/a>. Gaines won the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard freestyle in the TISCA High School Swimming & Diving State Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2017. The year prior, she was invited to participate in her first US Olympic Trials in the 100 free, but failed to make the cut after finishing in 85th place.<\/p>\n