Simone Biles set for her sixth world gymnastics championships
Gymnast Simone Biles competes in the floor exercise on the final day of womens competition at the 2023 US Gymnastics Championships at the SAP Center on August 27, 2023 in San Jose, California. Simone Biles dazzled on floor exercise August 27, on the way to a record eighth all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships, another step on a comeback trail pointing toward the Paris Olympics. (Photo by Loren Elliott / AFP)
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles is set to compete at the upcoming world championships in Antwerp, Team USA announced on Wednesday.
“Simone Biles – only U.S woman in history selected to compete at six world artistic gymnastics championships” Team USA posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Biles has dazzled since returning to competition in August for the first time since pulling out of most of her events at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist looked as brilliant as ever in two competitions last month, twice nailing her signature Yurchenko double pike, a vault so difficult that no other woman has performed it in competition.
She won a record eighth US all-around title at the national championships to put herself in position to add to her 19 world titles at the September 30-October 8 world championships in Belgium.
Biles said this month she would “love” to chase more gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old withdrew from most of her competitions in Tokyo two years ago after battling the “twisties,” a dangerous phenomenon in which gymnasts lose their sense of where they are in the air.
Her decision to withdraw was hailed as a watershed moment for the issue of mental health in elite sports, and Biles reiterated this month that even as she looks toward Paris she continues to focus on her mental health.
