Simone Biles wasn’t perfect on Friday evening (28 June) as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for gymnastics got underway, but she was more than good enough.
Inside Minneapolis’ Target Center, the 27-year-old tallied a 58.900 in the all-around to cruise – as she has so many times – to the top of the leaderboard. Tokyo 2020 team silver medallist Jordan Chiles (56.400) was second, followed by Sunny Lee (56.025), the reigning Olympic all-around champion.
Earlier, six-time World Championships medallist Shilese Jones withdrew from the competition after competing only on the uneven bars. She appeared to injure her knee during the final pre-meet warm-ups on vault and had to be assisted off the podium by medical staff. 2023 Pan American Games all-around champion Kayla DiCello also withdrew from the event.
In the final rotation, Biles boomed her signature, daring Yurchenko double pike, a vault named in her honour last season. She posted a 15.975, bringing the near capacity crowd to its feet.
Despite uncharacteristic wobbles on the balance beam in the night’s second rotation, with a month until the women’s qualifying round at Paris 2024, Biles looks as good, if not better than ever.
It’s quite the feat for the veteran, who owns 37 World Championships and Olympic medals, that make her the most decorated gymnast of all time.
But coach Cecile Landi, a 1996 Olympian for France, says Biles’ competitive performances are hard earned.
“She’s showed everybody hard work. A lot of people are surprised how hard she works on a daily basis,” said Landi. “No matter how talented she is, she gets the numbers done.”
That’s not the only key to her continued success, though.
In her post-Tokyo 2020 return to the sport, Biles has adjusted her approach, prioritizing her mental health after a case of what gymnasts call ‘the twisties’ – where an athlete’s body and mind fall out of sync – that caused her to withdraw from five Olympic finals.
“All the work she’s been doing outside the gym, and just being 27, married, she has other stuff going on, and I think it helps her keep a good balance. You know, it’s not only about gymnastics. And I think that keeps her sane,” explained Landi. “She’s calm. She laughs. She’s back to her sometimes goofy self that we had missed a few times, so I think this is where it shows.”
