As we swiftly approach the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, USA shining star, Simone Biles is ready to smoke the competition after winning her ninth National Championship Sunday at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. This latest victory for Biles also qualifies her for the U.S. Olympic trials at the end of June.
Biles is a 37-time Olympic and World Championship medalist. She’s viewed as the greatest gymnast of all time by many and looks to add to her legacy June 27-30 during the Olympic trials. This feels like just another stop along the way to the inevitable of Biles dominating Paris in July.
It truly is amazing to watch Biles’ progression over the years as one of the most dominant forces ever in the Olympics. Even more than that, the example she’s set in being a hero to little black girls can’t be overlooked. Her sustained success and demeanor make her someone you want to see succeed.
You’ve got to be pretty damn good to have multiple skills that bear your name. One of those skills Biles’ name represents is the Yurchenko double pike vault. This vault adopted Biles’ name (the Biles II) after she became the first woman to perform the difficult skill at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships last fall.
In a show of sheer resilience, Biles bounced back on Sunday after slipping while performing “the Biles II” only to come right back and stick it. This vault is so difficult that Biles still scored 15.000 even after falling.
Sunday’s National Championship wasn’t perfect, but Biles still managed to shine through as only she can. And should she qualify for the Paris games next month at the U.S. trials, Biles will be on the road to what could be viewed as a redemption story.
Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympic games (postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19 shutdown), Biles had to pull out of the competition after an awkward landing during her vault routine due to “twisties” as it’s known in gymnastics. This occurs when a competitor loses spatial awareness midair, therefore losing the ability to judge when and where to land.
Image: Elsa/Getty Images.
“It took a lot mentally and physically to just trust my gymnastics again and most importantly trust myself. I think that was the hardest part after Tokyo is I didn’t trust myself to do gymnastics,” said Simone Biles on returning after Tokyo Olympics
Following her removal from the Tokyo games, Biles wasn’t in the best head space as she spoke about thinking she wouldn’t be able to return home to America because of what a few degenerates on Twitter and other forms of social media were saying about her withdrawing.
“If I could’ve gotten on a plane and flown home, I would’ve done it. I thought I was going to be banned from America, ’cause that’s what they tell you: ‘Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back,'” Biles said.
It’s a shame sometimes how serious athletic competition is taken in this country at times, to the point where winning gold or a championship ranks above someone’s [mental]health. Knowing this should make us want to see her take as many gold medals as possible in Paris. Biles may not say it publicly but as competitive as she is, you know, making it back to the Olympic games and mowing down the competition is the only thing on the G.O.A.T’s mind.
