Simone Biles wins record seventh national women’s all-around title
USA Gymnastics star and world champion Simone Biles took home her record seventh national women’s all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday.
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Biles, who is expected to be the linchpin of the USA Women’s Gymnastics team for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics, won with a score of 119.650 which was 4.7 points ahead of runner-up Sunisa Lee.
Biles’ teammate Jordan Chiles finished third with a score of 114.450.
“I feel like I did try to enjoy it because it could be one of my last championships that I’ll attend,” Biles said. “But it’s also the road to Tokyo, and after this we have trials, so we just have to really embrace the moment.”
Biles’ seven titles are the most by any American woman.
Though the 24-year-old could win competitions without inventing new skills, she often pushes herself harder with mind-boggling tricks the world has never seen before. She has debuted so many daredevil tricks, she now has four skills officially named after her.
After the 2020 Olympics were postponed due to the pandemic, Biles trained harder and tested more skills, such as a double-layout, double-tuck.
The US Olympic team trials will be held June 24-27 in St. Louis. The Tokyo Olympics are set to begin in late July, barring further postponement or cancellation.
“I feel like every single championship stands out for a different reason, but this one stands out specifically because it’s the road to Tokyo,” Biles said. “We came out here, and we did what we were supposed to.”