United States: American gymnast Simone Biles has won a record eighth all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships.
This is a huge comeback for the four-time Olympic gold medalist. Ten years after her initial rise to stardom as a teenage sensation, the 26-year-old Biles recently achieved an all-around score of 118.
Shilese Jones is the runner-up by four points. Leanne Wong, a junior from Florida, secured third place, enhancing her prospects for earning a spot on the United States world championship team for the third consecutive time.
Biles wowed the crowd at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, with an impressive floor routine that ended with a flawless landing. This performance, her last in the competition, thrilled the audience and earned her a score of 15.400, making fans leap to their feet in excitement.
Biles’s accomplishment broke the previous record for the most all-around titles held by a male or female athlete. This record was previously held by Alfred Jochim, who secured seven titles between 1925 and 1933 during the Amateur Athletics Union era. Remarkably, Biles had already equaled this record in 2021.
Biles won in her second competition after a two-year break, which followed her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
She’s the ? for a reason.@Simone_Biles scores a 15.400 on Floor during Day 2 of Women’s Competition at #XfinityChamps!pic.twitter.com/5rRfRgpuJG
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 28, 2023
At the highest level of the sport and aiming to protect the four gold medals she had earned in Rio, Biles withdrew from most of her events in Tokyo due to the twisties. It is a risky situation where gymnasts lose their awareness of their position in the air.