Ladies and gents, guess who's flipping back into action? After a 732-day Olympic hiatus, Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time (with the possible exception of Nadia Comăneci), just cartwheeled her way to gold in the all-around competition at the Core Hydration Classic in Chicago. And it's just a warm-up for the US Championship coming later this month.
Read more:
Biles, the record holder of gold medals at the World Gymnastics Championships, soared above fellow gymnasts like Jordan Chiles, Leanne Wong, and Katelyn Jong during the competition on Sunday. With her signature flair, she nailed a floor routine featuring a double layout with a half-turn – a signature Biles move – bagging a score of 14.9. By the way, the song played during that exercise was none other than Israeli pop star Noa Kirel's "Unicorn," a song that gave her a third-place finish at the latest Eurovision song contest.
On the vault, Biles executed a Yurchenko double pike, recognized as one of the most challenging maneuvers in women's gymnastics, scoring an outstanding 15.4. For this vault to one day bear her name, she must successfully showcase it in an international contest.
As the competition neared its end, Biles needed a mere 10.350 to clinch the top spot. She outperformed, finishing a full 5 points ahead of runner-up Leanne Wong. With an all-around 59.1, she's all set for the upcoming US Championships in San Jose, California.
"It felt really good, especially after everything that’s happened over the past year,” Biles said in a post-event interview with CNBC, referencing the hiatus she took to deal with some psychological issues.
"So, everyone that was cheering, made posters and all that in the crowd, it just made my heart melt that they still believe in me and I got back out here and I did what I was training for so I’m very happy with the result," she said.
At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Biles clinched five gold medals and added a bronze for her performance on the beam. Fast forward to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she opted out of several events, yet still secured a bronze in the beam and a team silver. With a dazzling collection of 32 medals from the Olympics and World Championships, she reigns supreme as America's top-awarded gymnast.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the 26-year-old gymnast shared that she grapples with the "twisties" – a psychological hiccup that disrupts a gymnast's spatial awareness mid-air, akin to vertigo. While this condition typically resolves rapidly, Biles began experiencing it weeks prior to the Games.
The pressure from the condition, coupled with immense expectations, took a toll on her mental well-being. Yet, Biles showcased her prowess in the beam event, departing Tokyo with a bronze. Post-Olympics, she embraced her hiatus and recently tied the knot with former NFL star and Washington Redskins fullback Jonathan Evans. Her decision to return was quite unexpected news.
Last year, President Joe Biden honored Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She's been a vocal advocate on matters dear to her, spanning athlete mental well-being, support for vulnerable youth, and care for survivors of sexual assault.
SIMONE BILES BEGINS COMEBACK TO THE BEAT OF NOA KIREL’S ‘UNICORN’
