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Olympic champ Biles victorious in return to gymnastics competition
LOS ANGELES, July 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Olympic gymnastics champion Simone
Biles made a triumphant, if imperfect, return to competition Saturday,
winning the senior all-around crown at the US Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
Biles, who tied an Olympic record with five medals, four of them gold, at
the Rio Games, hadn’t competed since 2016 and she showed some signs of nerves
with a fall and a few uncharacteristic wobbles.
Nevertheless, Biles took the senior all-around title with a total of
58.700 points.
Riley McCusker of Brielle, New Jersey, tallied 57.500 for second, with
2017 World all-around champion Morgan Hurd rounding out the top three at
56.350.
Biles won two of the four event titles: balance beam and floor exercise as
she qualified for the US championships next month with the World
Championships coming up in October.
“I feel pretty good with where I’m at in this time of the year, and even
from Rio I feel like I’ve improved,” said Biles, who is already looking ahead
toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I’m pretty proud of myself at this point.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/1026 hrs