Seven time Olympic medallist Simone Biles is set to win her ninth US crown after taking day one lead at US gymnastics Championships 2024 in Texas. Biles has a 3.4 point lead over her closest competitor Skye Blakely (57.050). Kayla DiCello, Suni Lee and Leanne Wong were the other three gymnasts in the top five. With an all round total 60.450, Biles looked better than ever ahead of the Paris Olympics. The 27 year old broke 60.000 mark for the first time since 2021 US Olympic trials.
“She broke the 60s and that was a goal of hers,” Biles’ coach Cecile Landi said after the meet.
Her night started with Yurchenko Double Pike vault, with somersaulting backward twice and her momentum taking her a step backward. She amassed a score of 15.8 which included a 9.4 for execution which is praise worthy score for something that no woman has attempted in a major competition. Her night ended with a floor exercise where she is the current world champion. Biles is now sitting three points ahead of the rest going into second half of the competition on Sunday. With this performance Biles is all but guaranteed of a spot at Paris Olympics next month for USA.
Biles already has won eight US crowns in her career (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023), a feat no one has ever achieved.
Biles would be hopeful of yet another gold at Paris Olympics after a disapointing campaign at Tokyo games held in 2021 due to Covid 19 pandemic. The 27 year old had to settle for a silver and a bronze in Tokyo as she suffered with “twisties” which is a kind of a mental block. She had to pull out of four events, participating in beam and a team event only. “Even though I was empowering so many people and speaking out about mental health, every time I talked about my experience in Tokyo – because it obviously didn’t go the way that I had planned – it stung a little bit. But all in all, it was the best decision,” Biles said.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
