Simone Biles, looking perhaps better than ever, surges to early lead at US Championships
Simone Biles put herself in position to win a ninth national gymnastics title, stringing together four occasionally brilliant rotations to take a massive lead at the U.S. Championships
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Simone Biles put herself in position to win a ninth national gymnastics title, stringing together four occasionally brilliant rotations to take a massive lead Friday night at the U.S. Championships.
The 27-year-old, eyeing a third Olympic trip this summer, had an all-around total of 60.450, the highest in the world since the beginning of 2022. It also was more than three points clear of Skye Blakely in second at 57.050 and Kayla DiCello in third at 56.850.
Two months out from Paris, Biles looks perhaps as good as ever. The seven-time Olympic medalist and six-time world champion began her night with her Yurchenko Double Pike vault, clasping her hands to her knees as somersaulted backward — twice — before landing with so much force her momentum carried her back a step.
No matter, her score of 15.8 included a 9.4 for execution, a massive number for a vault so difficult no woman other than Biles has ever attempted in a major competition and only a select number of men have even tried it.
