This is not a “hate on” question. I am actually curious. Why is it heavily touted Simon Biles is the Gymnastics GOAT when Larisa Latynina surpassed Biles Olympic metal total with a total of 18 metals? She is only behind Micheal Phillips in most Olympic metals won.
Besides the fact that Simone has the most Olympic and World medals, a consistent winning record unheard of in modern gymnastic and some of the most difficult gymnastics moves.
But have you watched Larisa’s routines? It doesn’t remotely resemble gymnastics today and would be considered quite elementary. To me - a GOAT means someone’s records and skills should stand the test of time. Forget even comparing to today - Larisa’s skill set was already being vastly surpassed just 10yrs later. I doubt we will see another gymnast be able to pull off all of Simone’s moves in a long long time.