Simone Biles, the record eight-time U.S. national champion, took a commanding lead in the all-around after the first day of competition at the U.S. Championships in Fort Worth. The 27-year-old Biles displayed another phenomenal level of gymnastics, recording a score of 60.45 in the all-around (15.80 vault, 14.65 bars, 14.80 beam, and 15.20 floor). With one of her best all-around performances of her illustrious career, Biles leads the field by more than a three-point margin.
“There is room for improvements,” said her coach Cécile Canqueteau-Landi. “But her goal was to get a 60 in the all-around, and she did. Mainly, we are happy with her attitude, behavior, and demeanor, so we are very pleased,” she added.
Biles, a 37-time world and Olympic medalist, recorded the top score on each apparatus of the competition. She is almost certain to claim her record ninth U.S. national title on Sunday evening when the two-day total score of each gymnast will be combined to determine the final standings.
Shilese Jones, runner-up at U.S. nationals for the last two years and almost certain to make the Paris Olympic team, withdrew just hours before the start of the competition, citing the need to rest her shoulder before the Olympic Trials next month. “With Paris as my ultimate focus, it’s best for me to prioritize recovery and resting my shoulder this weekend. Both the medical team and I are confident this is the right decision to ensure I’m at full strength for Trials,” Jones stated. Jones plans to petition to USA Gymnastics and hopes to compete at the Olympic Trials in Minneapolis next month. She finished second in the all-around to Biles just two weeks ago at the Core Hydration Classic.
The level of the entire women’s competition was one of the highest in recent U.S. Championships, with very few major mistakes. Skye Blakely, who debuted a Cheng on vault for a score of 15.0, recorded 57.05 in the all-around to stand in second place after day one. After a disappointing competition two weeks ago at the Classic, Kayla DiCello rebounded with a strong all-around performance. This spring’s Winter Cup all-around champion posted 56.85 to place third.
2020 Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee competed in her first all-around competition since the 2023 NCAA season and, with four solid routines, is in fourth place with 55.70. Three-time U.S. world team member Leanne Wong is fifth with 55.50, followed by first-year senior and last year’s U.S. junior national champion Hezly Rivera with 55.30. Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles had a strong night until her last skill of the competition, a double layout dismount on floor, where she put her hands down. Due to the mistake, Chiles is in seventh place with 55.10, followed by Tokyo Olympics floor gold medalist and world vault gold medalist Jade Carey, who is eighth with 55.05.
The competition continues tomorrow with the second and final day for the senior and junior men.
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 was also 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 she 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.
Yet Biles has mastered it to the point that it has become just part of the show, one that remains unparalleled in the sport and arguably the Olympic movement for that matter. Barring injury, she’s all but assured of a room in the Olympic Village in late July. The question of which other four women will join her, however, probably won’t be sorted out until the waning moments of the Olympic trials in Minneapolis at the end of June.
Shilese Jones, the second-best all-around gymnast in the U.S. behind Biles, pulled out of the championships Friday afternoon, citing a shoulder injury. Jones plans to petition into Olympic trials, one that will almost certainly be granted. If healthy, Jones is as close to a lock as there is. After her, however, plenty of intrigue abounds in arguably the deepest field in at least a generation.
Blakely was just 16 when she unexpectedly became eligible for the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics. That run ended with a ruptured elbow at the Olympic trials. The 19-year-old was easily the best gymnast not named Biles on Friday, highlighted by a steady 14.450 on beam. DiCello, who left the University of Florida to return to Maryland and convinced her elite coach Kelli Hill to come out of retirement in the process in pursuit of the Olympics, rebounded from a shaky performance at the U.S. Classic two weeks ago to put herself in position to reach the podium at the end of Sunday’s finals.
Sunisa Lee, the 2020 Olympic champion, took another step forward while trying to navigate a pair of kidney-related issues that complicated her training and, in some ways, her life. Lee competed in all four events for the first time this season, capping her performance with a 14.300 on bars — her best event — despite intentionally watering her routine down a bit to ensure she would hit it.
Jordan Chiles, a 2020 Olympian and a three-time world championship medalist, continued her resurgence. Rocking a multicolored leotard that’s a nod to pop superstar Beyonce, Chiles’ night included a rock-solid 14.5 on uneven bars. The only real hiccup came at the end of her floor routine when she shorted her final tumbling pass and lurched forward.
Simone Biles’ quest for national title number eight is off to a great start. After Day 1 of competition at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, Biles leads the way with almost a 3-point margin over Shilese Jones. Biles posted the top score on vault, beam, and floor. After sitting tied for first with Biles at the halfway point thanks to a strong start on vault and bars, Shilese Jones moved to second after touching her hand to the beam on her two-foot layout series. However, Jones finished strong on floor with a beautiful new routine.
Skye Blakely finished third after a stellar day of competition where she proved she is certainly in the mix for Paris as an All-Arounder. Blakely posted the second-highest score of the day on bars and beam.
Source: Associated Press, Inside Gymnastics
