Biles wins record-extending ninth national championship

FORT WORTH (Agencies): Simone Biles won a record-extending ninth all-around title at the U.S. championships in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday as the four-time Olympic gold medalist continues to impress in the run-up to the Paris Games. After soaring into the lead on Friday, Biles picked up right where she left off on the final night of the competition, shaking off a misstep at the beginning of her balance beam routine to finish with a solid performance. Her high-flying floor routine earned a 15.10 from the judges and an emotional response from her mother in the stands as the 27-year-old added to her lead. Biles fell backwards while attempting to land a difficult vault in the third rotation but closed the night with a solid outing on the uneven bars to seize the title with a wire-to-wire victory. She also swept the titles for the individual events. “Today it was just about getting out here, getting comfortable and confident in my gymnastics and hopefully going to Olympic trials and taking that next step towards Paris,” Biles said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how I’m doing at this time of the year and gaining confidence in front of a crowd.”

Biles finished with 119.750 points ahead of Skye Blakely, who was 5.900 behind. Kayla DiCello was third, 8.950 back of the winner. Tokyo all-around champion Sunisa Lee finished fourth with 110.650 points. Biles missed much of the Tokyo Games due to the “twisties” ––– a mental block where gymnasts are disoriented in midair –––  and then stepped away from competition for two years but looked sharper and more resilient than ever this weekend. “I’m a little bit older so I know exactly how to reboot, collect myself and move on to the next event even if I feel like something wasn’t how it was supposed to go,” she said. “I know exactly how to switch my mindset and keep going. “It’s years of therapy … as well as having good team mates.” Not in action at the championships was Shilese Jones, who is considered the most likely gymnast after Biles to make the five-member Paris team. She withdrew ahead of the competition to rest a sore shoulder to ensure she is at full strength for the Olympic trials later this month in Minneapolis, where the squad will be named. “It’s feeling a little bit better today than it has this whole week,” Jones told NBC Sports.