SAN JOSE — When it was all over and Simone Biles had finished her magical performance on the floor at the SAP Center, San Jose let her hear it.
The entire place went into a frenzy, fans leaping to their feet, little girls crying and adults shaking their heads in disbelief. Biles hugged her coaches, fist-bumped her teammates, waved to the crowd and finally bent over to catch her breath.
With her high-flying floor routine in which she at one point took a symbolic bow before continuing on, Biles cruised to a dominant victory at the U.S. Gymnastics Championship in San Jose on Sunday night.
“I knew I did a good floor routine but the girls had to tell me, ‘you hit every pass,’” Biles said afterwards. “I’m like (wow), I need to see that routine. I didn’t know. It doesn’t feel real for some reason.”
It was her record-setting eighth all-around national championship. She won her first in 2013. Now, at 26, she’s the oldest woman ever to capture the title.
“I seriously can’t believe I’m out here competing again,” she said. “I’m proud of myself for that.”
Even against a field considered the best ever by USA Gymnastics, with 58 combined world and Olympic medals to their names, Biles didn’t fit in.
She was something else altogether, reinforcing her title as the greatest of all time as she finished with the highest score on the floor, on the vault and on the beam. She was third on the uneven bars, her least-favorite exercise.
“Her being able to go out there and do what she’s doing… it was really cool to see, and really beautiful,” said Jordan Chiles, a silver medalist at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo after replacing Biles, who withdrew for mental health reasons.
A few months ago, it was unclear whether or not Biles would ever compete again. After withdrawing in Tokyo, the seven-time Olympic medalist said goodbye to gymnastics.
But she made a surprise return earlier this month, when she cruised to a commanding victory at the U.S. Classic in the suburbs of Chicago while teammates and onlookers wondered if she was even stronger and better than before.
“It’s years of experience for her,” said her coach, Laurent Landi. “You don’t lose that. When you feel good about yourself and you feel you’re under control, then it’s where you can shine… Now she can let loose and not think. In gymnastics, if you can not think, that’s when you’re ready.”
Biles said her long break allowed her to reshape her training program. Now she has shorter, more efficient workouts, even if sometimes she feels like “age is kicking my (butt).”
Friday night’s performance seemed like a statement as Biles looked powerful in every exercise. On the vault, she executed the Yurchenko double pike, a move so complicated that she remains the only woman to ever try it in a competition. It came at a price; she sprained her ankle and refrained from attempting the move on Sunday.
She didn’t need it; she entered the final day with a 2.55-point lead.
Sunday, her 15.400 score on her floor routine was the final brush stroke on her masterpiece of a weekend.
“That was the best floor routine I’ve ever seen her do,” Landi said. “If she does this at world’s (in September), she’ll win. It’s that simple. We just have to keep her as healthy as possible and still willing to do the sport. That’s all.”
Over two days she totaled a 118.450, almost four points higher than Shilese Jones, the 21-year-old from Seattle who might’ve had the performance of her life but will go home with only silver to show for it.
The only question now is whether or not Biles will want to continue all the way to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Those rosters won’t be set until after trials next year, but Biles hasn’t yet said if she intends to compete.
With her victory on Sunday she ensured she’ll be part of the national team at the FIG 2023 Artistic World Championships in Belgium in September, but those rosters have yet to be officially announced.
“One thing at a time,” Biles said. “We have to take care of our bodies mentally and physically. Gymnastics is just what we do. We wont be doing this forever. We have to remember that. It’s nice to show those young kids that. It’s our story to write. Our ending to tell.”
Gilroy native Nola Matthews finished 12th in the all-around competition with a combined score of 104.850. The 16-year-old finished in 10th in the floor competition, tied for 10th on the uneven bars and tied for 13th on the balance beam.
On the men’s side, Stanford University athletes accounted for three of the six men named to the national team. Stanford sophomore Asher Hong, who won his first national championship at the SAP Center on Saturday, will headline the field of six that also includes fellow Cardinal gymnasts Khoi Young and Colt Walker.
