San Jose, Calif. — If there is an equivalent of a walk-off homer in gymnastics, it is Simone Biles competing last on floor.
Biles clinched a record eighth U.S. national all-around title Sunday with the most flawless performance she has given since returning to competitive gymnastics at U.S. Classic three weeks ago.
“That was the best floor routine I’ve ever seen her do,” her coach, Laurent Landi, said. As Biles struck the ending pose on a routine that earned her a sixth national floor title, the crowd erupted in a standing ovation that shook the SAP Center. It was as if the 11,000 fans in attendance had been bottling two years of applause for the four-time Olympic gold medalist.
“Every time I come out here, I feel like I’m in a fever dream,” Biles said after the meet. “I feel like nothing’s real. I knew I did a good floor routine, but as soon as I got off and saw the score, I was like, ‘Damn, I need to see that routine.’ Because I wasn’t sure. I’m in the moment. But it doesn’t feel real for some reason. I just, seriously, can’t believe I’m out here competing again. I’m proud of myself for that.”
Although Biles led the two-day competition after day one, as well as after every rotation Sunday, it was that floor routine that will stick in the minds of U.S. gymnastics fans for some time. They are here largely to watch Biles.
Look no further than the handmade Simone Zone and Biles is Back signs they hoist after her routines for proof.
One fan, who traveled from Denver to meet up with his father, who drove from Seattle, carried a sign that read, We traveled 1,685 miles for Biles! For fans like them, every floor routine, every Yurchenko double pike vault, every beam set, feels like bonus time with the 26-year-old, who took two years off after the Tokyo Olympics, her future in the sport uncertain until her return earlier this month.
This time around, Biles said she is approaching the run up to the Olympics differently. She isn’t sharing her personal goals publicly or even saying that making the Paris team is one of them. Here in San Jose, she didn’t talk to the media until after Sunday’s competition. No camera crew followed her throughout the weekend, as they did in the lead up to Tokyo. On Sunday, she did just one vault, the Cheng, in order to protect her ankles, which were sore from landing the Yurchenko double pike Friday and taped during her vault and floor routine Sunday. That meant she was out of contention for the vault title, but Landi said they made the decision for her safety and to let her ankles heal.
Once again, what Biles didn’t do spoke as loudly as what she did.
ESPN/Adukwu William
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