Sports Fans Go Wild Over Nia Dennis' Viral Black Culture Gymnastics Routine

What.

A.

Performance.

Nia Dennis has sent the gymnastics world into meltdown after her latest floor routine went viral.

The 21-year-old well and truly broke the internet with her #blackexcellence performance while competing for the prestigious UCLA.

With moves inspired by black culture, Dennis also performed to songs by high-profile black music artist including Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Missy Elliott, Soulja Boy, Megan Thee Stallion and Tupac Shakur.

UCLA Gymnastics shared the video of the powerful performance on Twitter, captioning it: "This is what #blackexcellence looks like."

And it didn't take long for the clip to gain traction on social media with some of the biggest names on the planet singing Nia's praises.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama re-shared the footage, adding: "Now that's what I call fierce! You're a star Nia Dennis!"

While Olympic gold medallist and gymnastics icon Simone Biles said: "Ok Nia Dennis, do the damn thing girl. This was so fun to watch! Keep killing it!"

On top of all the overwhelming praise, the original video itself raked up over 10million views on Twitter alone.

"The whole thing, literally everything, is Black culture," Nia told The Lily.

"I wanted it to be a celebration of everything (Black people) can do, everything we can overcome. Amid all the adversity and oppression we've been through, here we are.

"The subject of Black Likes Matter is so heavy. It is difficult for people to talk about - and sometimes you have to meet people where they're at, with a celebration. Every single song is a major Black artist, musician, from different time periods. They had a huge impact on Black culture, which has also had a huge impact on me. So I'm just literally celebrating what they've done and having the time of my life."

In a sport largely dominated by white women, Nia Dennis is certainly making her mark and quickly becoming one of the biggest names in gymnastics.

But this isn't the first time she's gone viral either.

Back in early 2020, she received global attention for her Beyonce-inspired floor routine which incorporated the songs "Crazy in Love" and "Ego".

We all know Beyonce as 'Queen Bey', but by the way she's going it might not be too long until we start referring to Nia Dennis as 'Queen Nia' too.

Topics: Simone Biles, Black Lives Matter, olympics, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry