Simone Biles Easily Wins Her 9th US Championship

No one else has more than 7 national gymnastics titles in the US
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 2, 2024 8:51 PM CDT
Updated Jun 3, 2024 12:00 AM CDT
Simone Biles Easily Wins 9th US Championship
Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the US Gymnastics Championships Sunday, June 2, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas.   (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles won her ninth US Championship on Sunday, leaving little doubt that at 27 and a decade-plus into her run atop the sport, she is as good as ever, the AP reports. Biles posted a two-day all-around total of 119.750, nearly six points clear of runner-up Skye Blakely and making it clear that she appears ready to add a second all-around Olympic gold to the one she captured in 2016. In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles put on a four-rotation clinic that featured all the trademarks of a typical Biles performance. There was jaw-dropping athleticism mixed with precision and more than a splash of swagger. No other gymnast in the history of the sport in the US has more than seven national titles.

Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events—something she'd done only once before at nationals (2018)—to build plenty of momentum ahead of the Olympic trials later this month in Minneapolis. Her only misstep on Sunday came on vault. She came up short on her Yurchenko double pike—two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees—during warmups and overcompensated when it counted, generating so much force she wound up on her back. She still received a 15.000 for her effort, a testament to a vault that's never been completed in competition by another woman and only attempted by a select group of men. (While Biles remains above the fray as usual, there is plenty of competition for the other four spots on the five-woman US team—read about the other contenders here.)

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