WASHINGTON (Dispatches) - The United States Gymnastics Championships concluded over the weekend, and few could have been surprised that Simone Biles dominated the competition.
Despite a few uncharacteristic mistakes on Friday that she chalked up to an abundance of power and adrenaline, Biles, 24, coasted to her record seventh U.S. title on Sunday night in Fort Worth, Tex. Biles won three of the four events on Sunday, and did so even while leaving some of her best tricks — including a vault so technically advanced that other gymnasts won’t even attempt it — in reserve.
“It’s really emotional, especially going into my second time doing an Olympic run, it’s really crazy,” said Biles, who has won every all-around competition she has entered since 2013.
Biles has dominated world gymnastics for eight years. But because she and every other gymnast have been mostly idle during the pandemic, there were always going to be questions about how she would perform back on the big stage.
Biles left no doubt at the U.S. Championships, winning the overall title by a comfortable 4.7-point margin. She won three of the four events and was third in the bars.
Biles performed better on the second day of the meet than she had on Saturday, another good sign. On Day 1, she stepped out of bounds three times during the floor exercise. On Day 2, she did so only once.