Seven for Simone; Biles claims another US Gymnastics title
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Simone Biles made it down. Anyway a little. Rise even higher.
The 24-year-old gymnastics superstar claimed her record seventh American title on Sunday night, delivering another surprising — and surprisingly easy — performance, given the pressure surrounding her bid to become the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic championships. To be slightly lowered over 50 years is only taking him to even greater heights.
Starting Friday with a somewhat sloppy start, at least by his impeccable standards, Biles put on a four-rotation showcase that sheds light on why his status as a GOAT symbol—the greatest of all time— His competition has become a fixture on Leopard - a sign for .
Her two-day total of 119.650 was nearly five points better than runner-up Sunissa Lee and good friend and teammate Jordan Chills. Biles' all-around score of 60.100 on Sunday was her highest since 2018 and she took notice that she is only getting better with the Tokyo Games less than seven weeks away.
It helped that she managed to stay inbound (mostly) during her floor routine after venturing out three times on Friday. Blame the crowd she gets when the lights are on and the crowd in the palm of her hands. She was far more accurate in the final, except for a tumbling pass where one of her legs went over the white boundary.
Oh, well, something to work on for the Olympic Trials in St. Louis later this month.
"It's so crazy because in training I never go out of bounds and I've never had that much power," Biles said. "But with adrenaline, that's where it comes in."
While Biles' victory was never in doubt - it has rarely been above the game during her nearly eight-year reign - she is in no mood to coast.
And to think he didn't even bother with his latest innovation, a Yurchenko double-pike vault that he drilled twice at last month's US Classic that caught the attention of everyone from LeBron James to Michelle Obama. Instead, she chose two with slightly less difficulty that she accomplished so casually that it was hard to tell whether she was in front of a field that screamed for her at every turn or was fooled in practice back home in Houston. Was being
Not that it mattered. He still posted the top score on the vault anyway. Like he did on the beam. Just like he did on the floor. Just like she's done everywhere, she won the 2013 U.S. Have saluted the judges since the championship.
Yurchenko will return to the double-pike trial and is likely to be in Tokyo, where if she completes it during the competition, another element in the game's code of points will be named for her. Just add it to the list they call "#SimoneThings".
Biles has been a lock for Tokyo since returning to training in late 2017. Chili and Lee may also be close to that area. The top two all-around finishers at the Trials would earn an automatic spot on the Olympic team, although Biles was given permission by US national team coordinator Tom Forster, Chile and Lee have separated themselves from the pack.
"You can see the scores and if the scores are anything, it looks like that," Forster said.
Yes it does.
Lee appears to be gaining momentum, competing on a bad ankle that sometimes left him limping around the arena. Once behind the routine, which is one of the most innovative and electric on the planet, Lee faced a formidable challenge from Chile to hold onto the silver.
"I think people are doubting me because I've been injured for a while," Lee said. Lee said he doesn't think he needs to do anything more to impress the selection committee.
Chile continued its remarkable growth over the past six months, finishing runners-up to Biles for the second time in three weeks. The 20-year-old, who started training with Biles two years ago, shared an emotional moment with his good friend after his bars were removed. Chili joined in as she saw coach Cecil Landy cry, which caused Biles to come and hug her and remind her of how far she had come.
"(She) was telling me that I deserve what I've done now and that I'm talented and talented and I have the opportunity to make that team," Chile said.
The real intrigue that goes into the trials may be who else can emerge from the crowded field. Emma Malabuyo finished fourth and Lynn Wong fifth. Jade Carey, who has already secured an individual Olympic spot thanks to her performances on the World Cup circuit, was sixth. Forster said he expects Carey to be the five-woman U.S. The team will accept its automatic location instead of trying to build.
The group in the trial, however, will not include Laurie Hernandez. Hernandez, a two-time Olympic medalist in 2016, did not compete after injuring her left knee on a beam dismount during the warm-up on Friday.
A pair of former world champions are also likely to be out. Morgan Hurd, the 2017 world champion, could petition the trials, but has struggled with both her injuries and her form hasn't finished in the top 20 on the beam or floor. 2005 world champion, Chelsea Memmel, who made her comeback debut last summer, saluted the crowd after ending her uneven bars routine.
The photo behind Biles & Chillies and Lee, however, remains in the crowd for only three weeks before the team's unveiling. This isn't a bad thing.