Simone Biles won a record-extending ninth U.S. all-around title, plus won every individual event title at nationals for the second time in her career.
Biles took a dominant next step to what would be her third Olympics in Paris.
She won the all-around at the Xfinity U.S. Championships by 5.9 points over Skye Blakely, combining scores from Friday and Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas. The margin is greater than what separated second place from 10th place.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how I’m doing this time in the year and just gaining that confidence over and over, getting myself back in front of a crowd and just doing what I do in practice,” Biles said.
XFINITY U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS: Results
It’s the third-largest margin of victory since the perfect 10 scoring system was replaced in 2006.
Biles won by a record 6.55 points in 2018, when she also became the first woman to sweep all five golds at one nationals since Dominique Dawes in 1994.
Biles’ only major error among eight events between Friday and Sunday was on a vault on Sunday.
She over-rotated a double back-flipping vault that’s named after her and fell backward. She smiled as she walked off, then hit her next vault.
“I’m kind of a veteran; it’s not my first time out there,” she said. “I’m a little bit older, so I know exactly how to kind of reboot and recollect myself to move onto the next event even if I feel like something wasn’t how I wanted it to go.”
The U.S. Championships marked the last major competition before the Olympic Trials, which are June 27-30 in Minneapolis.
The trials all-around winner makes the team for the Paris Games. A three-person selection committee picks the other four team members after trials, taking into account results dating back to last fall’s world championships.
Blakely’s Olympic stock rose significantly at nationals. She was fourth in the all-around last year, then moved up to second this week thanks in part to upgrading her vault.
“I know what I’m capable of now,” said Blakely, who met her goal of making the podium and scoring at least 56 points each day (57.05, 56.8).
Blakely debuted a Cheng vault, adding six tenths of difficulty both nights.
In 2021, a 16-year-old Blakely tied for seventh in her senior nationals debut as the youngest woman in the top 16.
At the Tokyo Olympic Trials, she tore an elbow ligament warming up for vault, her first event, and withdrew. She underwent Tommy John surgery.
Blakely came back to make the last two world championships teams.
Suni Lee, the Tokyo Olympic all-around champion, also bolstered her Paris hopes.
After a fall on her opening vault — followed by a helpful talk with Simone Biles — she improved her balance beam and uneven bars scores from night one to night two. She finished second and fourth overall on those two events, which may be key for her Olympic hopes.
Lee is coming back after being diagnosed with two kidney diseases early last year. She has been in remission since late 2023.
Another Olympic team contender, Shilese Jones, didn’t compete at nationals due to a right shoulder injury but said she plans to be full strength for trials.
Jones won all-around silver and bronze at the last two world championships and was runner-up to Biles at last year’s nationals.
