Simone Biles is a champion again after nabbing her record-breaking eighth career title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Sunday night at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Biles received an all-around score of 118.4, beating Shilese Jones and Leanne Wong for the title. She also became the oldest champion in her second national competition since returning from a two-year break after a much-publicized withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that prompted her to become an advocate for mental health.
“We know we have to take care of our bodies, whether that’s mentally or physically,” she told the media after Sunday’s competition. “So take that break and come back stronger because, at the end of the day, gymnastics is just what we do, and we also have to remember that we’re not going to be doing this forever, so I think, at the end of the day, it’s really nice to show those young kids that, but I also think it’s our story to write and our ending to tell.”
Biles returned to competition at the U.S. Classic in Chicago earlier this month, where she won with an all-around score of 59.1, beating Wong by five points.
With the win, which came 10 years after her first, she earned her 25th career medal (18th Gold) and broke Alfred Jochim’s record of seven national championships, which he achieved between 1925 and 1933.
Biles was also one of 10 competitors named to the 2023-24 Senior Women’s National Team, which also features Allen’s Katelyn Jong and Frisco’s Skye Blakely. She is scheduled to compete next at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, at the end of September.
While she may be getting close to retirement, her focus remains on the upcoming competitions and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I still feel like I have some personal goals,” she told the media. “I still feel like I’m capable of doing it, and I’ve proved to myself that I can still go out there and compete at the same level as I was before. I can’t say as long as I can do it, I’ll be out there, but I’ll give it one more go, and then we’ll see.”
