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Simone Biles performs on the uneven bars at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
CNN
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Global superstar Simone Biles came out on top at the Core Hydration Classic on Saturday, winning the individual all-around gold medal as a first step for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer. did.
Biles’ overall score of 59.500 was nearly two points ahead of individual all-around silver medalist Series Jones and more than four points behind bronze medalist Jordan Chiles.
For the 27-year-old Biles, the next step on the path to the Paris Olympics is the U.S. Championships, which begin May 30 in Fort Worth, Texas, followed by the U.S. Olympic Trials, which begin June 27 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Three Olympic individual all-around champions were scheduled to compete for the first time Saturday at the competition in Hartford, Conn. Gabby Douglas and Sunitha Lee, who won Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2021, respectively, also competed with Biles. .
The last time the three girls competed at the national championships eight years ago, Biles finished first in the junior division, Douglas fourth and Lee 10th.
All three have enjoyed great success since then but each faces their own challenges and adds an element of comeback to the challenge to qualify for Paris, which begins in earnest on Saturday.
Despite this field of talent, it’s Biles who still retains the star appeal. She suffered from so-called “twisties” (a mental block that causes gymnasts to lose their position in the air) and withdrew from several events at the Tokyo Olympics, but now has seven Olympic medals at the Paris Olympics. We are trying to further increase our record. 2024.
Biles won a bronze medal on balance beam at the Tokyo Olympics, but took a long break from gymnastics after the Olympics and returned to competitive gymnastics last year.
Immediately after her return, she won four gold and silver medals at the World Championships, surpassing Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record of 33 all-around medals at both the Olympics and World Championships, making her the most medal-winning gymnast in history for both men and women. He became a player.
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Gabby Douglas is looking to qualify for the Paris Olympics after eight years away from competition.
Following Biles’ success at the Core Hydration Classic, the gymnast’s final chance to secure a spot to qualify for Paris will come at the national championships in June, where the top performers will be selected for the Olympic squad. He will be selected by the meeting.
Meanwhile, Douglas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, was making his second competitive appearance. Saturday, 10 months after he announced his first competitive return since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Douglas told NBC News Now that while watching the 2022 U.S. Championships, he realized he wouldn’t be able to compete and decided to resume training. “I can’t believe I’m back in this sport right now,” she added.
Douglas, who started competing on the uneven bars, suffered an injury the rest of the competition after his first rotation and suffered two falls before scoring a 10.100, NBC Olympics reported.
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Sunitha Lee won the gold medal in the individual all-around at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Lee has also endured a long stretch away from the gym since his Olympic victory three years ago. His kidney disease threatened to derail his gymnastics career, but treatment brought his symptoms under control and enabled him to aim for Paris.
Biles’ example has inspired Lee to talk more openly about her mental health, she told Reuters last month.
2022 U.S. champion Conor McClain was injured during a warm-up on the floor exercise before the start of the second rotation and was carted off the field in a wheelchair, NBC Olympics reported.
Biles competed this weekend against 13 Olympic, World Championship and Pan American Games medalists, including Tokyo Olympic floor champion Jade Carey and six-time World Championship medalist Series Jones.
