Olympic gold medalist and world champion gymnast Simone Biles may have had a rough start in both her bar and beam routines at the 2019 US Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Missouri this past weekend, but her record-setting landing off the beam showed us once again why she’s truly one of the greats.
With five Olympic medals and a whopping fourteen world championships under her belt, it’s clear that Biles’ biggest competition is ultimately herself, as her ambition and perfectionism can occasionally psyche her out during routines.
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In the last few years, Simone Biles has become a household name.
The poised and powerful athlete went from underdog to Olympic gold medalist, using her height—what some would call a disadvantage—as one of her biggest assets.
To us, it seems like Biles became a champion overnight.
However, it’s clear that she’s trained relentlessly her entire life to get to where she is today. She didn’t just become one of history’s best gymnasts despite discrimination towards her intersectional identity and a life-long struggle with ADHD—these are integral aspects to who Simone Biles is, and her unique perspective and lived experiences are just as much a part of her as her skills are.
This past weekend, Biles saw both highs and lows at the US Gymnastics Championships.
During her floor exercise, Biles was the first woman to ever attempt a triple-double (two flip and three twists in the air), but just missed her landing and subsequently fell forward.
Her routine on the bars was also less crisp than expected.
The Guardian even called her bars “messy,” referring to the block on her Amanar vault as “dangerously close to disaster.”
As expected, Biles’ biggest critic is herself.
“I still get really frustrated because I know how good I am and how well I can do,” she told The Guardian . “So, I just want to do the best routine for the audience and for myself out here.”
“I’ve never fallen on one or anything, just to make a mistake like that, it kind of irritated me.”
On the balance beam, it seemed as though Biles was continuing a shaky trend—until she attempted her landing from a double-twisting-double somersault dismount.
She landed the dismount, making her the first person in history to successfully execute such a move.
A smile of relief brightened her face as she hugged coach Laurent Landi, who doesn’t see Biles’ self-criticism as a bad thing.
“I’m actually happy she’s so upset because it means she cares so much and we can work with it,” Landi said.
“If she would not care, if she would be, ‘OK, it’s just OK.'”
“It would be hard to go back in the gym and practice it,” she continued.
Biles ended the night with a total score of 58.650, leading Sunisa Lee by 1.750 going into the final day of competition on Sunday.
Watch the landing that made history.
Despite the day’s challenges, to say that Biles ended the night on a high note would be an understatement. The powerhouse athlete is consistently raising the bar for her sport, and is only getting more talented by the day.
h/t: The Guardian
