HARTFORD, Conn. — Simone Biles is more than two months away from the start of the Olympics, but she’s definitely ready for Paris.
The gymnastics superstar begins her bid for a third Olympic team looking more dominant than ever at the U.S. Classic on Saturday, posting an overall score of 59.500, two points ahead of second-place Cilles Jones. Made a close difference.
The 27-year-old Biles, a 2016 Olympic champion, had the highest scores on vault and floor exercise in her 2024 debut, and placed second on uneven bars and balance beam.
“It was really nice to be back on set and get through that nerves again and feel that adrenaline,” Biles said. “I can’t complain about how my first game back went.”
She showed off some of her signature skills, including a double pike on Yurchenko on the vault and a tumbling pass that ended in a double flip with a triple twist.
Biles completed the vault, which requires two backward jumps with his hands on his knees, as coach Laurent Lundy watched from the side. Randy had been on the podium to find Biles on previous attempts, but this decision earned her a 0.5 point neutral deduction.
Biles wasn’t perfect – she took a few big steps back when coming off the vault and took in too much air on her triple-double and landed out of bounds – but her combination of difficulty and accuracy remains the standard for the sport. It becomes.
Biles is the de facto key to being selected to the five-member U.S. women’s Olympic team if she can stay healthy. The big question that will have to be answered over the next six weeks is who will join her in France.
Jones was great on bars and consistent elsewhere, so he should head into the U.S. Championships later this month and the Olympic Trials in late June with confidence.
After that, the situation becomes ambiguous.
Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, wanted to use the US Classic as a springboard. Instead, she leaves with questions about the path forward.
The 28-year-old returned from a long break following the 2016 Olympics, but fell twice on the uneven bars and withdrew from the remaining four events.
Sunitha Lee, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, has been battling kidney problems for the past 18 months, making it difficult for her to train.
She competed in three events and earned a 14.600 for her elegant beam routine, just ahead of Biles’ 14.550.
2020 Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles placed third in the individual all-around with a score of 55.450. Jade Carey, who won gold on floor in Tokyo, came in fourth.
2022 U.S. Champion Connor McClain injured his Achilles tendon while warming up during a floor exercise and withdrew from the competition.
