Simone Biles eyes ninth all-around title at US gymnastics championships
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Simone Biles runs through her beam routine during the second day of a two-day media event with the USA Gymnastics team.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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FORT WORTH – Simone Biles enters this week’s US Gymnastics Championships as the favourite to claim yet another all-around title, as the sport’s most dominant force continues to build momentum ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The four-gold former Olympic champion is gunning for a record-extending ninth US title at the competition after her 2023 triumph saw her break a tie with Alfred Jochim, a two-time silver medallist at the 1932 Games.
Biles is looking to make her third Olympic appearance in Paris.
She also wants to further distance herself from the Tokyo Games in 2021, when she dropped out of several events due to the “twisties”, a type of mental block where gymnasts are disoriented in mid-air.
That led to a two-year hiatus. But, since returning to competition last August, the 27-year-old has been masterful, her most recent victory coming in the all-around at the Core Hydration Classic earlier in May.
It was the first event of her 2024 season and she won with a total of 59.5 points, her best all-around total since her return to the sport.
“I was just happy to be back out there, get through those nerves again, feel that adrenaline,” said the American, who has five moves named after her.
Joining Biles at the May 30-June 2 competition in Fort Worth, Texas, is Tokyo’s all-around champion Sunisa Lee.
The 21-year-old says she has recovered from the two kidney diseases she endured after her Olympic breakthrough, which caused her face, fingers and legs to swell and threatened to derail her career.
Jade Carey, the Tokyo floor gold medallist, is the third and final Olympic champion at the competition after London 2012 all-around winner Gabby Douglas withdrew on May 29 with an ankle injury, ending her bid to make the Paris team.
Also in the mix is team silver medallist Jordan Chiles, who famously stepped in for Biles in Tokyo, and two-time world all-around gold medallist Shilese Jones.
The US Gymnastics Championships are the final stop before the 2024 Olympic team trials in late June in Minneapolis, where the five-person squad for Paris will be named.
The women’s portion of the competition begins on May 31 and concludes on June 2. REUTERS
