Taylor Swift shared empowering messages for gymnasts Jade Carey and Suni Lee, who stepped up to represent the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following Simone Biles‘ decision to withdraw from the women’s all-around competition.
Taylor, speaking over the gentle intro of her song “evermore,” expressed confidence in the USA Women’s Gymnastics Team and commended the athletes for giving their all.
“Life can surprise you. It can humble you. It can test you. It can inspire you,” the Grammy winner stated in a new promo, which aired during NBC’s broadcast of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The promo shared never-before-seen video of Biles, Carey and Lee training hard for the Games. Taylor shifted the message to center on how the team is handling Biles’ absence.
“They didn’t expect this to be the story, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t ready for the spotlight,” she said as the footage shifted to Carey and Lee. “They’ve worked for this. They’ve dreamed about this. They belong here.”
Expressing confidence that Team USA will make America proud, Swift exclaimed, “So don’t be surprised as the story takes flight from here in the women’s all around in Tokyo!”
Taylor’s message rang true on Thursday night, with Lee making history by claiming the gold medal for the gymnastics all-around event. She is now the fifth consecutive gymnastics all-around gold medalist, following in the footsteps of Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, Gabby Douglas and teammate Biles, who was last to take home the gold in 2016.
Lee, who is 18, is also the first Hmong American Olympian. As for Carey, she finished in eighth place, losing points for taking a fall on the balance beam.
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