Biles wins 9th national title ahead of Olympics

"The pressure of an Olympic year and the otherworldly expectations that follow Biles everywhere haven't rattled her"

(Image credit: Elsa / Getty Images)

What happened

Simone Biles won her ninth national title Sunday at the U.S. Gymnastics Championship after sweeping every individual event over the two days of competition. No other gymnast has won more than seven U.S. national titles. Biles, 27, earned an all-around score of 119.750, almost six points higher than Skye Blakely's second-place 113.850.

Who said what

"I use the phrase 'aging like fine wine,'" Biles said. "It's just getting better and better. We'll see. Hopefully we get to ride this out for the rest of the year."

"Winning a national title is not supposed to look this easy," The Washington Post said. "The pressure of an Olympic year and the otherworldly expectations that follow Biles everywhere haven't rattled her," but after her early exit from 2021's Tokyo games, she will need these strong performances to conquer the stress of Paris.

What next?

Biles and 15 other gymnasts will compete for five spots on Team USA at the Olympic Trials in Minneapolis June 27-30. "There is plenty of competition for the other four spots," The Associated Press said, but "Biles' ticket is essentially punched. Same as it ever was."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.