Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has won her ninth national title
FORT Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles won her ninth U.S. Championship on Sunday, leaving little doubt that at 27 and a decade-plus into her run atop the sport, she is as good as ever.
Biles posted a two-day all-around total of 119.750, nearly six points clear of runner-up Skye Blakely and leaving little doubt that she appears ready to add a second all-around Olympic gold to go with the one she captured in 2016.
In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles put on a four-rotation clinic that featured all the trademarks of a typical Biles performance. There was jaw-dropping athleticism mixed with precision and more than a splash of swagger.
Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events — something she’d done only once before at nationals (2018) — to build plenty of momentum ahead of the Olympic trials later this month in Minneapolis.
Her only misstep on Sunday came on vault. She came up short on her Yurchenko double pike — two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees — during warmups and overcompensated when it counted, generating so much force she wound up on her back.
