Simone Biles entered the weekend as the record holder for most national gymnastics titles. She then proceeded to make that record even more difficult to beat by winning her ninth.
At the 2024 U.S. gymnastics championships, “Biles finished with the highest two-day score on all four events, something she’d done only once before at nationals (2018),” according to The Associated Press.
Biles’ routines can be viewed on NBC Sports.
The 27-year-old gymnast has come a long way since she first entered the gymnastics spotlight, and one thing she has had to learn to manage is her mental health.
According to The Associated Press, three years ago, during the Tokyo Games, Biles abruptly withdrew from the competition, citing mental health concerns.
This pivotal moment, among other experiences, has equipped her with the ability to offer helpful advice to her younger teammates.
“That’s kind of what excites me because I think they have long careers ahead of them,” Biles told The Associated Press. “So if I can do anything to help them, right now and in the future, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Biles demonstrated this support for friend and 2020 Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, who did not stick the landing during her vault over the weekend.
“I was kind of thinking that this was over,” Lee said, per The Associated Press.
Biles approached Lee and offered reassurance, reminding her that she could “do hard things,” per the AP.
“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.”
“I know I was having a hard time and she was just there to help lift me up,” Lee said.
Biles isn’t just supporting her teammates; she’s also leading them with an exceptional all-around score of 119.750. This put her 5.900 points ahead of second-place winner Skye Blakely and 8.950 points ahead of third-place winner Kayla DiCello, according to USA Gymnastics.
In addition to achieving the highest overall score, per USA Gymnastics, Biles won gold in each of the four events: balance beam, floor exercise, vault and uneven bars.
Her only misstep occurred during the vault, according to The Associated Press. She generated too much power and overshot her landing while performing the Yurchenko double pike — a move involving two backflips with hands clasped behind the knees.
Despite the stumble, she earned a score of 15 due to the difficulty of the stunt, which has not been completed by a woman in competition, the article noted.
“I’m not mad,” Biles said afterward.