Gymnast Biles is on track to set a US title fight record
Gymnast Simone Biles is on track to set another record. In her second competition back, the 26-year-old four-time Olympic champion at the US Championships in San Jose leads halfway in the all-around. She could become the first gymnast to win the title for an eighth time. Biles has already equaled Alfred Jochim's record set from 1933 in 2021.
Biles returned to the US Classic earlier this month. This was her first competition since the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. There she missed most of the matches due to mental problems. She later admitted that she should have retroactively skipped the Games.
Biles scored 59,300 points midway through the all-around event. Shellis Jones is second with a score of 56.750. Biles said afterward that she wasn't really interested in the record. The American said: “I have my personal goals and this is what I focus on.” It took some time to get used to being on the beam. “Once I got my nerves under control, things went well. I'm happy with the matches I'm playing here.”
The American Championships are preparation for the World Championships next month in Antwerp. The top women in the national title race receive an invitation to a training camp where World Cup candidates are selected.
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