Simone Biles wins the title after a two-year hiatus and breaks a nearly 100-year record

Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in US history, won her eighth national title Sunday in San Jose, California, breaking the 1933 record.

The four-time Olympian thrilled the crowd with a final performance on the ground that earned her 15,400 points for a total of 118,450 points.

This eighth national title in freestyle gymnastics allowed her to break the record set by Alfred Joachim, who won seven times in 1933. At 26, she also became the oldest gymnast to win a national team competition, ten years after winning her first title.

Sheelise Jones, who was runner-up in the US in 2022, came in second, 3.9 points behind.

The American star has been in the lead since the first night of competition on Friday, when she landed the Yurchenko Double Carpe, a jump so difficult that no other gymnast has performed it in competition.

Sunday’s victory was his second in the same number of competitions after returning after a two-year break. The gymnast withdrew from most of the 2021 Olympics in Japan due to mental health and safety concerns.

The gymnast explained that she lost her bearings in space, which puts athletes at risk of injury upon landing.

At San Jose, Biles was the only competitor to finish both days of competition with two scores above 15. Runner-up Shilize Jones scored one score on Sunday, 15.0 on uneven bars.

This performance is another step towards the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, which will begin with the World Championships in Antwerp on September 30th.

However, Simone Biles declined to reveal “personal goals” following her triumphant return on August 5 at the US Classic.

“I like to keep them with me (…). I think it will be better. This year I’m trying to move a little differently than last year. I think it works so far,” he said.

When asked if Paris was among the targets, he replied that “now is not the right time yet.”