Simone Biles has done it again.
Biles won her ninth national all-around title Sunday night to conclude the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth. She won the gold medal on all four apparatus and was almost perfect throughout the competition as she prepares for a third Olympic Games this summer in Paris.
The victory in Texas officially secured Biles a spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials later this summer. She is now the first gymnast, male or female, to win nine all-around national titles. Biles already owned that record after breaking a tie with Alfred Jochim for the record with her eighth win last year. That victory also made her the oldest woman to ever win the title.
Biles finished with an all-around total score of 119.750. She fell on the locker once while trying to get out of her signature Yurchenko double pike. That cost her a one-point deduction and marked her first fall of the season.
Sunday’s victory came after Biles rolled through the field to win the all-around title at the US Classic last month. Skye Blakely finished in second place with a 113.850. She narrowly defeated Kayla DiCello, who won the bronze medal with a score of 110.800. Shilese Jones did not participate due to a shoulder injury. Both Jones and Kaliya Lincoln were petitioned to compete in the Olympic Trials.
Biles is regaining momentum ahead of the Olympics later this summer, having both led Team USA to the team title at the World Gymnastics Championships last fall and earning The Associated Press’ 2023 Female Athlete of the Year award. .
Although she will still go through qualifying later this summer, Biles is certainly one of the most followed athletes in the world in France for the Olympics. These will be her first competitions since experiencing the twisties at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. That left her largely out of competition in Japan, which was a stunning development for the four-time Olympic gold medalist.
But then again, it looks like Biles is back to his old self so far. The Olympic Trials open June 27 in Minneapolis, about a full month before the opening ceremony in Paris.
