FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — There was a time when Simone Biles would find “beauty in blindness” before the Olympics, reveling in not knowing what she didn’t know.
It was eight years ago. Back when she was still a teenager. Still a little “dizzy”.
Those days are long gone. The evidence isn’t just Biles’ driver’s license or her marriage certificate, but also how the now 27-year-old woman is able to see beyond herself. The tunnel vision that most great athletes have in their quest for greatness has collapsed.
And that may be the biggest difference between the gymnastics star’s national title on Sunday night – her ninth, this one with an all-around total of 119.750 – and her first more than a decade ago. years.
The defining moment of Biles’ victory was not a twist, turn or jump, but a step.
It happened early on, as Biles watched 2020 Olympic champion and good friend Sunisa Lee spin awkwardly in the air during her jump and land on her back, a mix of surprise and fear spreading across her face.
“I kind of thought it was over,” Lee said.
Then Biles appeared beside him, spontaneously. She knew exactly where Lee was at that moment better than anyone.
Three years ago at the Tokyo Games, a similar wayward jump by Biles set off a chain of events that led her to withdraw from several competitions and bring the debate about the importance of mental health to the forefront.
Watch Lee, who has spent the better part of the last two years fight against kidney problems who yo-yoed his weight and complicated his training, trying to pull himself together, Biles left his teammates at the World Champions Center and gave Lee the kind of support Biles relied on so heavily in Japan.
“I know how traumatic it is, especially on a big stage like this,” Biles said. “And I didn’t want her to get into his head, so we just went and talked about it.”
The two stepped off the floor to talk, with Biles reminding Lee that she “could do hard things.”
When they returned, Biles stood next to the uneven bars to cheer Lee on as she bounced back with a brilliant (if somewhat watered down) routine that earned her a 14.500 and helped her finish a promising fourth place.
“I know I was going through a tough time and she was just there to help me pick myself up,” Lee said.
Biles is at an unprecedented point in her career where the joy she gets from the sport is no longer strictly focused on the quality of her performance.
Although she joked that she thought she was “aging like fine wine,” it’s telling that she kept her biggest smile afterwards when talking about the five World Champions Center teammates – most of them ten years younger – who would later join her at the Olympic trials in Minneapolis. this month.
“That’s kind of what excites me because I think they have a long career ahead of them,” Biles said. “So if I can do anything to help them, now and in the future, that’s what I will do.”
It’s his way of giving back. She is well aware of the spotlight that awaits her in Paris and tries to set an example for others on how to handle the pressure that awaits her. She has become a regular at therapy… now even during competition weeks – and is determined to focus on what she can control.
Like let’s say, her gymnastics.
In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles put on a four-rotation clinic that had all the marks of a typical Biles performance. There was breathtaking athleticism mixed with precision and more than a touch of swagger.
Biles finished with the highest two-day score in all four events, something she had only done once before at nationals (2018).
Her only misstep Sunday came on vault. She failed on her double Yurchenko pike – two backflips with hands clasped behind her knees – during warm-ups and overcompensated when it counted, generating so much force that she ended up on her back. She still received a 15,000 for her effort, testament to a vault that has never been completed in competition by another woman and was only attempted by a select group of men.
Not that it bothers her. Biles composed herself, took a few deep breaths, then climbed a jump from Cheng that was rewarded with a 15.1 and put a ninth national title within her reach. No other gymnast in the history of the sport in the United States has more than seven.
While Biles stays above the fray as usual, there is plenty of competition for the remaining four spots on the five-woman U.S. team that will head to Paris as heavy favorites to return to the top spot. high place on the podium after finishing second behind Russia in Tokyo three. years ago.
19-year-old Skye Blakely put in another impressive performance and will head to Minneapolis with plenty of momentum. Three years after bidding for the 2020 Olympic team ended in injuryBlakely climaxes at just the right time.
Lee remains a picture of elegance on bars and beam, her best events, and was cheered after her first elite all-around since triumphing in Tokyo while Biles applauded from the stands.
Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are in the mix, although both suffered falls on the balance beam on Sunday. Third-place finisher Kayla DiCello slipped off the uneven bars.
Then there’s Shilese Jones, considered the best all-around gymnast in the United States without the last name Biles, who withdrew from the championships on Friday, citing a shoulder injury, although she declared on Sunday that she was feeling better and planned to be available for testing. So will 18-year-old Kaliya Lincoln, who opted not to compete Sunday after changing something during Friday night’s opening session.
Both – if healthy – appear to be serious contenders for an invitation to Paris (Jones in particular).
Biles’ ticket is essentially punched. Like always.
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