Utah signee Poppy-Grace Stickler recounts competing against Simone Biles
More than a few University of Utah gymnasts — current, former and future — have competed alongside Simone Biles, the gymnast largely considered to be the greatest of all time.
Through much of her elite career, former Red Rock MyKayla Skinner competed side-by-side with Biles, most recently at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Current Utah standout Grace McCallum was teammates with Biles on that same Olympic team in Tokyo, and she competed against and with Biles many times before that.
Then there’s Amelie Morgan, another current Red Rock, who competed for Great Britain at the same Tokyo Games, alongside Biles.
Poppy-Grace Stickler — part of Utah’s 2025 signing class — is the most recent though, having competed alongside Biles at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, last fall, while representing Team Great Britain.
The competition was historic for Biles, who became the most decorated gymnast in world championships history with 25 total medals.
Stickler had a front-row seat to history being made, as she was in a grouping that included Biles.
In an interview with Olympics.com, the 17-year-old Stickler, and her Great Britain teammate Ruby Evans, recently talked about the experience and what it was like as a teen to compete alongside the most decorated gymnast — male or female — in the history of the sport.
“I was quite nervous,” Stickler said. “I was saying to Ruby, I was like, ‘Oh my days, she’s literally right next to me.’”
Evans, too, was in shock.
“It felt unreal,” Evans said. “I used to watch her on my telly and now I’m just sat next to her and she’s just so chill. She just sits there, has a little talk, and just gets on there (the competition floor) and just does it.”
Continued Evans: “And I accidentally sprayed her (Biles) on her leg with my spray. And she was like, ‘What was that?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, it was my spray, I’m so sorry.’ And she was like, ‘Oh, it’s fine’, and she just started laughing. So, yeah, it was nice to have a little conversation with her. It was just unreal, though. It was insane.”
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Stickler, fresh off back-to-back stints on Team Great Britain at the world championships in 2022 and 2023, appeared to have a real chance to compete against Biles this year too, while representing Great Britain in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
(Biles is currently in the middle of a comeback that, if successful, would see her compete in her third Olympic games.)
The Welsh gymnast was injured last month, however, while training with Team Great Britain, fracturing both her back and hip.
Stickler is still slated to compete at the English gymnastics championships in March, though it isn’t likely that she will be recovered and capable of competing by then.
The fact that she even had a chance to make a run at the Paris Olympics put her well ahead of schedule, though, per Olympics.com.
Writes Jo Gunston: “Despite the disappointment, the path plotted by the two (Stickler and Evans) highlighted LA 2028 as the Olympic Games to aim for, so even eyeing Paris is way ahead of schedule.”
Stickler is, as of now, expected to begin competing for the University of Utah next January, alongside fellow 2025 signees Avery Neff, Zoe Johnson and Clara Raposo.
Raposo could end up being the next Red Rock to compete alongside Biles. The Canadian is currently attempting to make it on Team Canada for the upcoming Olympics.
