Simone Biles talks about her future goals after winning her eighth all-around title
Simone Biles talks to the press about her future goals, getting older in gymnastics, and whether she has another year of training left.
USA Today
HARTFORD, Conn. – Simone Biles is starting the Olympic year in historic fashion.
The Rio Games gold medalist begins her season on Saturday at the US Classic, where she will be joined by London champion Gabby Douglas and Tokyo winner Sunny Lee. It is the first time ever that three Olympic champions will compete together.
“It’s a really fun moment,” Douglas, who returned after nearly eight years off, said Friday.
This meet does not directly impact who will make Team USA at the Paris Olympics. But it plays a role because it’s a qualifier for the national championships later this month in Fort Worth, Texas. The results at the national level determine who will be invited to the Olympic Trials, which will be held June 27-30 in Minneapolis.
How to watch the 2024 US Classic
Biles’ competition session will be broadcast live on CNBC and Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. NBC will also present a show recapping all the highlights from the US Classic at 2 PM ET on Sunday.
more: How to watch gymnastics stars Simone Biles, Sunny Lee and Gabby Douglas at the 2024 US Classic
This is the first time ever that three Olympic all-around champions – Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Sonny Lee – will compete together. But to put that in better perspective, when Douglas joined Team Rio, she became the first all-around champion since Nadia Comaneci in 1980 to compete in the next Olympics. Biles clearly did the same thing in Tokyo.
There will be fireworks early. Gabby Douglas starts on the uneven bars, her signature event, while Simone Biles stands on the balance beam, where she is world champion. Oh, and Jade Carey started doing floor exercises, where she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Settle down and grab the popcorn. This is going to be fun.
There’s still an hour until the meeting starts and the XL Center isn’t even close to being half full. But the fans are already loud. When Simone Biles performed the Yurchenko double jump — also known as the Biles 2 — the cheers were deafening.
What to expect from Biles, Lee and Douglas
Biles has already qualified for the national championships as a member of the American team that won its seventh consecutive world championship title last year. But she uses this encounter to test her routine. She brought back the triple twist and double somersault on the floor, also known as Biles II, as well as the double-double dip on the uneven bars.
I’ve got a new one too Choreography On Floor, by French choreographer Gregory Milan.
Lee had originally planned to make the all-rounder, which would have been her first since she had to cut short her final season at Auburn due to a kidney condition, more than a year ago. She competed on bars and balance beam at the Winter Cup in February, and also competed on vault and beam at the American Classic last month. But Lee chose not to do the bars here, instead doing the vaulting, beams and floors.
Douglas has qualified for three national level events with her performance at the American Classic, but she hopes to improve on that so she can compete in all disciplines.
Who competes in the US Classic?
Gymnasts like to hold a meet to work their nerves and judge their routines before things start counting, so almost everyone is here. Biles and Chelsea Jones, all-around medalists at the last two world championships, will make their debuts this season, as will Tokyo floor gold medalist Jade Curry and 2022 U.S. champion Connor MacLean, whose LSU team won the NCAA title last month.
How do you make the US Olympic Team?
The top Olympic qualifier, likely Biles, is guaranteed a spot in Paris. The remaining four gymnasts, along with two alternates, are selected by a selection committee based on their performance this year, their scoring potential and how they contribute to the qualifying and team finals.
Unlike other sports, such as swimming and track and field, gymnastics teams cannot be selected based solely on results or standings. In Olympic qualifying, teams compete with four athletes in each event, and the lowest score can lose. But in the team finals, only three athletes compete in each event and all three scores count. This means that teams must be built to achieve the highest level of scoring and consistency in all four events.
What then?
We are less than two weeks away from the US Championships, from May 30 to June 2 in Forth Worth, Texas. The Olympic Trials will be held from June 27 to 30 in Minneapolis. The Paris Olympics will start on July 26, with the women’s competitions starting two days later with the qualifiers.
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