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| Simone Biles competes on the floor exercise during the U.S. Gymnastics Championships Sunday, June 2, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas.(Tony Gutierrez | AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez |
Simone Biles used to find "beauty in the blindness" before the Olympics, reveling in the unknown. That was eight years ago, when she was still a teenager and somewhat "ditzy."
Those days are long gone. The evidence is not just in her driver's license or marriage certificate but in how the now 27-year-old sees beyond herself. The tunnel vision common among great athletes in their pursuit of excellence has fallen away.
This change was evident in her recent national title win, her ninth, with an all-around total of 119.750. The defining moment of Biles’ victory wasn’t a twist, a turn, or a jump, but a walk.
Early in the competition, Biles watched as 2020 Olympic champion and good friend Sunisa Lee spun awkwardly in the air during her vault and landed on her back, a mixture of surprise and fear spreading across her face. "I was kind of thinking that this was over," Lee said.
Then Biles appeared at her side, unprompted. She knew exactly where Lee was in that moment better than anyone. Three years ago at the Tokyo Games, a similar wayward vault by Biles started a chain of events that led to her withdrawing from multiple competitions and bringing the discussion on mental health to the forefront.
Watching Lee, who has spent the last two years battling kidney issues, try to gather herself, Biles left her World Champions Centre teammates to give Lee the kind of support she had relied on in Japan. "I know how traumatizing it is, especially on a big stage like this," Biles said. "And I didn’t want her to get in her head, so we just went and talked about it."
The two retreated off the floor to talk, with Biles reminding Lee she "could do hard things." When they returned, Biles stood by the uneven bars, cheering Lee on as she rebounded with a brilliant routine that scored a 14.500 and helped her finish a promising fourth.
"I know I was having a hard time and she was just there to help lift me up," Lee said.
Biles is at a stage in her unparalleled career where the joy she gets from the sport is no longer centered strictly on her performance. While she joked about "aging like fine wine," her biggest smile came when talking about the five World Champions Centre teammates — most of them a decade younger — who will join her at Olympic trials in Minneapolis later this month.
"That’s kind of what excites me because I think they have long careers ahead of them," Biles said. "So if I can do anything to help them, right now and in the future, that’s what I’m going to do."
Biles is well aware of the spotlight that awaits her in Paris and is trying to set an example for others on how to navigate the pressure ahead. She’s become a regular in therapy, even during meet weeks, and is determined to focus on what she can control, like her gymnastics.
In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles put on a four-rotation clinic featuring all the trademarks of a typical Biles performance: jaw-dropping athleticism, precision, and swagger.
Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events, something she had only done once before at nationals (2018). Her only misstep came on vault, where she overcompensated and wound up on her back. She still received a 15.000 for her effort, a testament to the difficulty of a vault that has never been completed in competition by another woman and attempted by only a select group of men.
Unfazed, Biles collected herself, took a couple of deep breaths, and followed up with a Cheng vault rewarded with a 15.1, putting a ninth national title within reach. No other gymnast in the history of the sport in the U.S. has more than seven.
While Biles remains dominant, there is plenty of competition for the other four spots on the five-woman U.S. team heading to Paris. Skye Blakely, 19, is peaking at the right time. Lee, with her elegance on bars and beam, was encouraged by her first elite all-around competition since Tokyo.
Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are in the mix, though both endured falls on beam. Third-place finisher Kayla DiCello slipped off the uneven bars.
Shilese Jones, considered the best all-around gymnast in the U.S. without the last name Biles, pulled out of the championships due to a shoulder injury but plans to be available for trials. Eighteen-year-old Kaliya Lincoln also plans to compete after opting out of Sunday’s session due to a minor injury.
Biles’ impact extends beyond her own performances, as she continues to inspire and support the next generation of gymnasts, setting a powerful example of resilience and leadership.
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