Simone Biles soared through yet another remarkable routine on Sunday, capturing an unmatched eighth all-around championship at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, exactly ten years after her initial national victory.
Her triumph in San Jose, California, solidified an impressive resurgence to the sport’s summit, shortly following Biles’ return from a two-year hiatus focused on her mental health.
In an interview, Biles shared, “It feels really special. I’ve been doing it for so long, I feel like I don’t think about numbers, I think about my performance. And I think, overall, I hit eight for eight. I guess it’s a lucky number this year.”
The audience erupted in applause following Biles’ awe-inspiring floor routine, garnering her a score of 15.400. Her performance on the Cheng vault with a 14.850 was the highest of the evening, as was her 14.8 on the balance beam.
Her total score of 118.450 surpassed the second-place finisher, Shilese Jones, by 3.9 points.
Biles expressed her appreciation, saying, “It’s really amazing. Everybody in here believes in me. So I just need to start believing in myself a little bit more, but it feels amazing and I love the fans, I love the crowd. It was really special.”
Continuing her triumphant return to the sport, Biles built upon her victory at the U.S. Classic two weeks prior, marking her comeback after a two-year hiatus, which followed her withdrawal from multiple events at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Biles shocked the gymnastics community when she withdrew from the Tokyo team finals, attributing it to the emotional toll of the Games rather than a physical injury.
She later disclosed grappling with “the twisties,” a psychological phenomenon that disrupts a gymnast’s spatial awareness during aerial movements.
Soon after, Biles delivered emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, bravely sharing her story of having suffered sexual abuse at the hands of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
In stark terms, she asserted that both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee “failed to do their jobs.”
The national championships offer gymnasts the opportunity to earn a spot on the national team and secure a place in the forthcoming world championships, scheduled to be held in Antwerp, Belgium, next month.
Biles ascended to gymnastics stardom almost a decade ago as a teenage prodigy, clinching her inaugural world title at the 2013 championships, also hosted in Antwerp.
Her victory on Sunday, at the age of 26, established her as the oldest woman to claim a national title since USA Gymnastics took charge in 1963. She even surpassed the record set by Alfred Jochim nearly 90 years ago when the Amateur Athletics Union managed the event.
Her tally of 25 medals at world championships, including 18 golds, outshines that of any male or female gymnast in history.
As for her plans for the upcoming Paris Olympics, Biles maintained her discretion. She said, “I like to keep them personal just so that I know what I am aiming for… I’m trying to move a little bit differently this year than I have in the past. So I think it’s working so far, so I’m gonna keep it a little bit secretive.”
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