Simone Biles won the U.S. Classic on Saturday night, returning to action following a two-year layoff after the Tokyo Olympics.
Biles’s competition future was in doubt after she dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics after suffering a case of “the twisties,” a spatial disorientation neurological problem that forced her to take herself out of multiple events in Japan.
Wearing a black-and-white bedazzled leotard, the 26-year-old Biles saw signs being held in support by the sold-out crowd. Her all-around score of 59.100 was easily the best of the night.
Wearing No. 231 and sporting a necklace bearing “Owens” in tribute to her new husband, NFL cornerback Jonathan Owens, Biles began her night on the uneven bars. She wasn’t perfect, nearly stalling near the end of her routine, but hit her dismount.
Her score on the uneven bars of 14.000 was the third-best of the competition.
That led up to the moment all were waiting for – the floor exercise.
Biles kept all three of her tumbling passes on the floor inbounds, something that was a problem at times in Tokyo. Her score of 14.900 included a start value of 6.8, a massive amount of difficulty considering no other athlete had a start value over 5.9.
The Classic is a prelude to the U.S. Championships later this month, with the world championships coming in October and the Olympics less than a year out.