Enrichment Arts & Culture

Simone Biles wins amazing seventh US gymnastics title

(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Story at a glance

  • Simone Biles made history as she won her seventh U.S. gymnastics title on Sunday night.
  • The 24-year-old gymnast also made history last month executing the Yurchenko double pike vault, a routine that has historically only been completed by men.
  • Biles appears to be on her way to becoming the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic all-around gold medals in more than 50 years.

Simone Biles won her seventh U.S. gymnastics title on Sunday night in what is increasingly looking like her road to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in July.

Despite a shaky start on Friday, the 24-year-old walked away on Sunday with a score of 119.650, close to 5 points more than runner-up Sunisa Lee.

Biles appeared frustrated on Friday after she stepped out of bounds three times during her floor routine. However, she shook it off and continued on, displaying both her talent and perseverance as she powered through the next two days.


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Rocking another decked-out leotard emblazoned with a rhinestone goat, a fun nod at those who call her the greatest of all time, or GOAT, Biles kicked Sunday off to an instrumental version of Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” on the balance beam. She was meticulous on her floor routine, erasing memories of her Friday missteps and placed first with the top score for her vault routine.

Last month, Biles stunned as she emerged victorious at the U.S. Classic in Indianapolis after executing a history-making vault routine. Biles pulled off the Yurchenko double pike vault, a routine that has historically only been completed by men and consists of a roundoff onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vault, and two backflips midair before landing. She scored a 16.100, a score higher than her two Olympic vaults for which she received the gold medal in 2016.

Winning her seventh U.S. gymnastics title makes Biles’s chances of becoming the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic all-around gold medals in over 50 years more and more likely.


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