Simone Biles dominates US Championship with record 9th win
Simone Biles competes in the floor exercise during the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena on June 02, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, Texas - Simone Biles achieved another win Sunday after gaining her ninth U.S. Championship.
Biles posted a two-day all-around total of 119.750, nearly six points clear of runner-up Skye Blakely and leaving little doubt that she appears ready to add a second all-around Olympic gold to go with the one she captured in 2016.
In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles put on a four-rotation clinic that featured all the trademarks of a typical Biles performance. There was jaw-dropping athleticism mixed with precision and more than a splash of swagger.
Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events — something she'd done only once before at nationals (2018) — to build plenty of momentum ahead of the Olympic trials later this month in Minneapolis.
Her only misstep on Sunday came on vault. She came up short on her Yurchenko double pike — two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees — during warmups and overcompensated when it counted, generating so much force she wound up on her back. She still received a 15.000 for her effort, a testament to a vault that's never been completed in competition by another woman and only attempted by a select group of men.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.