US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles returned to competition with a bang Saturday, completing an historic vault to launch her final run to the Tokyo Olympics. The five-time Olympic gold medallist, who hadn`t competed since winning five golds, including a fifth all-around title, at the 2019 World Championships, delivered on the vault she`s been preparing -- a Yurchenko double pike -- at the US Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana. The vault, featuring a roundoff onto the springboard and back handspring into a piked double backflip, had never before been done in women`s competition. Biles sailed through it with so much power that she over-rotated slightly and stepped back on the landing.
"I was just thinking, do it like training," she said of her mindset as she took off down the runway. "Don`t try to overdo anything, because I have a tendency as soon as I raise my hand to kind of overpower things. I did a little bit, but at least I still was on my feet and it`s a new vault." Posts of Biles completing the vault in practice had set social media sites buzzing. NBA superstar LeBron James had retweeted a video of Biles landing it.
"It`s nice to see all the support," Biles said, adding that she was "feeling confident" heading into the US championships June 3-6. They`ll be followed by the US Olympic Trials June 24-27, where the top two finishers will book Tokyo berths, along with two other gymnasts named by USA Gymnastics selectors. Biles wasn`t perfect on Saturday. In addition to her step back on the vault landing she had a bobble on her floor routine and on the asymmetrical bars. But she won the all-around competition with a score of 58.400, with Jordan Chiles second on 57.100 points and Kayla DiCello third on 56.100. "I`m just happy to be back out here on the competition floor in an arena with all of the girls, especially after the long year and time off we`ve had," Biles said.
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