Simone Biles soared to victory in the U.S. Classic on Saturday night in her return following a two-year layoff after the Tokyo Olympics.
— Simone Biles began her first competition in 732 days by briefly running around during introductions, unsure of where she was supposed to go.
It’s the only time she seemed out of place. Once Biles saluted the judges, it was the same as it ever was.
Biles soared to victory in the U.S. Classic on Saturday night in her return following a two-year layoff after the Tokyo Olympics, the case of “the twisties” that forced her to take herself out of multiple events in Japan seemingly firmly in her rearview mirror.
Wearing a black-and-white bedazzled leotard, the 26-year-old Biles seemed in her element in front of a sold-out NOW Arena crowd that was littered with signs of support. Her all-around score of 59.100 was easily the best of the night, remarkable considering she’d only really started training seriously in late April after her marriage to NFL defensive back Jonathan Owens.
She has taken a muted approach to her return to the sport she has spent the past decade redefining. Biles admitted as recently as last week that it took her a bit to recover from “the twisties,” slang for a mental block that caused her to lose her air awareness but stressed that she was “good.
