Biles one step closer to Paris with day one US gymnastics trials lead / Photo: ELSA - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Biles one step closer to Paris with day one US gymnastics trials lead
Simone Biles continued her march toward the Paris Olympics on Friday with a dynamic day one at the US gymnastics trials that featured characteristic Biles brilliance and a little reminder that she's human, too.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist thrilled the Target Center crowd with her signature Yurchenko double pike vault, now also known as the Biles II.
She earned 15.975 points for the vault which no other woman has attempted in competition.
Biles topped the all-around standings after the first night of competition on 58.900 points, with the all-around winner after day two on Sunday guaranteed a trip to Paris, where gymnastics competition begins in just under a month.
Jordan Chiles, part of the US silver medal-winning team in Tokyo, was second with 56.400 points and Tokyo all-around champion Suni Lee, eyeing a title defense after returning from kidney disease, was in third on 56.025 points.
Shilese Jones delivered the top parallel bars routine of the night despite suffering a leg injury on a warm-up vault and opting out of the other three apparatus.
Biles's 37 world championship and Olympic medals make her the most decorated gymnast of all time. That haul includes a dazzling four gold from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
But three years ago, her Tokyo Games campaign came to an abrupt halt as she pulled out of a string of events as she battled the temporary mental block gymnasts call "the twisties," which causes them to lose their sense of where they are in the air.
Once unsure if she would bid for a third Olympic team, Biles has only gained strength since her return to competition in August, capturing all-around gold at the World Championships last year and grabbing her ninth national all-around title earlier this month.
P.Munro--EWJ
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