Simone Biles wins ninth national all-around title at the USA Gymnastics Championships, a record

CNN
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Simone Biles The gymnast won her ninth national all-around title, a record, at the USA Gymnastics Championships on Sunday, impressing ahead of next month’s Olympics in Paris.

The Bills finished with an A.J Total points 119.750 While Sky Blakely finished second with 5.900 points and Kayla DiCillo came in third. Sonny Lee placed fourth and Jordan Chiles placed fifth.

Biles dominated the event, achieving the highest cumulative scores on the four events — balance beam, floor exercise, uneven bars, and vault — despite a second-day dropout on the latter.

“Today, I came out here feeling comfortable and confident in gymnastics, and I’m hoping to go to the Olympic Trials and take the next step toward Paris,” Biles told NBC Sports. “So, I couldn’t be prouder of what I do this time of year and I gain that confidence over and over again, getting myself back in front of the crowd and doing what I do in practice.”

The National Championships are the last event for American gymnasts before the Olympic Trials in late June. The women’s team to compete at Paris 2024 will be selected after the Olympic Trials, with the winner of the all-around competition at the Trials automatically making the team.

Biles is aiming to get closer to returning to the Olympics, a competition in which she excelled “Volatility” – A mental block causes gymnasts to lose their posture – at the Tokyo Games.

Biles was asked Sunday if she had returned to gymnastics.

“Yes, everyone says I look like I’m having fun, which is good because most of the time I feel like if I’m not stressed or anxious, I feel like I’m having fun,” Biles said. “So, it’s good to have that and feel that again.”

She took a two-year break from the sport after that to focus on her mental health, but she returned last year to confirm her return with a historic performance in the World Championships.

After winning a silver and four gold medals there, she became the most decorated gymnast of all time, surpassing Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record of 33 total medals at both the Olympic Games and World Championships.

The four times Olympic gold medalist She entered the second day of women’s all-around competition in first place with an impressive score of 60.450, more than three points behind second-place Sky Blakely and third-place Kayla DiCillo.

Confirming her dominance, Biles led the field on all apparatus after the first day. I started in the basement, where I executed a Yurchenko double spear Then Cheng finished with 15,800.

Although the uneven bars are considered Biles’ “weaker” event, she scored a 14.650 to extend her lead by two turns. On her third course – balance beam – Biles continued her impressive performance, finishing with 14.800 points.

She finished the night on floor, scoring a 15.200 to extend her lead, and entered the final day with a great chance to win another national all-around title and cement her place as the most decorated American gymnast of all time.

Meanwhile, in the men’s competition, Brodie Malone captured his third national all-around title on Saturday, completing his impressive comeback from a serious injury last year that required multiple surgeries to repair torn ligaments and cartilage in his knee, as well as a broken tibia. .

“It’s amazing to be able – with everything I’ve been through – to be able to come back and come back like I did and be competitive enough to be at the top again,” Malone said afterward, at the Olympics.

He also took gold on the high bar, the apparatus on which he suffered a horrific knee injury and on which he will become world champion in 2022.

Malone finished ahead of Frederic Richard, who also won on land, and Khoi Young.

CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.