- There are two months until the Olympic Games and Biles seems ready to win more medals
- Biles defeated the rest of the US Classic field by nearly two points on Saturday.
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Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months until the Olympics begin.
The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the USA Classic on Saturday, posting a total score of 59.500, nearly two points ahead of runner-up Shilese Jones.
Biles, 27, the 2016 Olympic champion, posted the highest score on vault and floor exercises and placed second on uneven bars and balance beam in her debut in 2024.
“I was happy to be back there, get over those nerves again, feel that adrenaline,” Biles said. ‘
“I can’t really complain about how the first match went,” Biles added.
Biles may have taken some time away from gymnastics, but she showed no rust in the competition.
Biles dominated her return to the sport two months before the Olympics.
He did some of his signature skills, including hitting Yurchenko’s double pike on the jump and a spin pass that ends with a triple twist double spin.
Biles completed the jump, which requires her to put her hands on her knees while doing two back flips, with coach Laurent Landi watching from the side. Landi had been on the podium to spot Biles during previous attempts, a decision that cost her a half-point neutral deduction.
While Biles wasn’t perfect (she took a couple of big steps back on the dismount and took in so much air on the triple-double that she landed out of bounds), her mix of difficulty and precision remains the standard in the sport.
Biles is a virtual lock to make the five-woman U.S. Olympic team if she stays healthy. The big question that needs to be answered over the next six weeks is who will join her in France.
Jones was brilliant on bars and steady in all other aspects and should confidently head into the US Championships later this month and the Olympic Trials at the end of June.
After that, things get murky.
Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, hoped to use the US Classic as a springboard. Instead, she will leave with questions about the road ahead.
The 28-year-old, returning after a long layoff following the 2016 Olympics, fell twice on uneven bars and withdrew from the remaining four events.
Suni Lee, who won the Olympic title at the Tokyo 2020 games, has been battling kidney problems for the past 18 months that have made training difficult. She competed in three events and her graceful beam routine earned her a 14.600, slightly ahead of Biles’ 14.550.
Jordan Chiles, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist, placed third in the all-around with a 55.450. Jade Carey, who captured floor gold in Tokyo, was fourth.
Konnor McClain, the 2022 US champion, left the competition with an Achilles tendon injury he suffered while warming up in a floor exercise.