Simone Biles wins US championships for the EIGHTH time as the 26-year-old newlywed becomes the oldest gymnast ever to win the event

Simone Biles won a record eighth U.S. championship on Sunday, ten years after winning her first from Houston as a 16-year-old.

Biles, now a 26-year-old newlywed who is considered arguably the greatest of all time, posted a total of 118.40 over the entire two days, four points ahead of runner-up Shilese Jones. Junior Leanne Wong of Florida came in third, boosting her chances of making a World Cup team for the third time in a row.

Biles is almost certain of a return to the gym where she won her first world title in 2013. Over the course of two electric evenings at the SAP Center, she was told that even after a two-year break from the Tokyo Olympics, in gymnastics there is the one called the GOAT and there are all the others.

Biles became the oldest woman to win a national title since USA Gymnastics began hosting the event in 1963. With her eight crowns, she passed Alfred Jochim, who won seven between 1925 and 1933 when the Amateur Athletics Union organized the championships and the men’s league events. including rope climbing.

Yes really.

“I don’t think about numbers,” said Biles, who married Green Bay Packers safety Jeremy Owens in April. ‘I think about my performance. And I think overall I got 8 for 8. I think it’s a lucky number this year.’

The sport has come a long way in the last century. No one has spent more time at the extreme end of the Bell curve than Biles, who spent a decade using her unique talents to push boundaries in more ways than one.

Peaks shouldn’t last that long. Most top gymnasts at age 26—at least those who haven’t retired yet—simply hope to hold on to what they’ve got.

Biles is not interested in that. Never been. She finds repetition boring. She insists she’s doing it ‘for herself’ this time and her distinctly different approach to her work is tangible proof that she’s not lying.

Rather than include the world in her journey as she envisions a third Olympics, she’s kept most of her training under wraps, more interested in sharing a glimpse of her life away from the gym.

“I like to keep[my goals]personal so I know what I’m aiming for,” Biles said. ‘I think it’s better this way. I’m trying to move a little differently this year than in the past. I think it’s working so far, so I’m going to keep it a secret.’

Biles and Jeremy Owens (left) announced their engagement in February 2022

Packers safety Jonathan Owens (34) kisses his wife Simone Biles after a preseason game

There seems to be more balance in her life, leaning on the “it’s just gymnastics” mantra that has helped her take off.

Age has not yet caught up with her, although she played relatively safe on Sunday – by her standards. She twisted her right ankle during Saturday practice, forcing her to forego Yurchenko’s double pike jump, which she completed almost flawlessly on Friday’s opening night of competition.

The 14,850 she received for her Cheng jump was still the highest of the night at the event. Also the 14.8 she achieved on beam. Also the 15,400 who got a standing ovation when she finished.

The next stop is in Antwerp at the end of September, where Biles will try to add to the 25 medals (18 of which are gold) that she has achieved in her unparalleled career so far.

Jones also thinks he is on the plane. The 21-year-old is a marvel on bars, where she does well despite being tall (six feet tall) for someone who chooses to do this for a living. The crowd erupted when she managed to make her step down, her score of 15,000 was the highest in competition at the event, putting behind her 10 months of injuries that had slowed her training.

Shi Jones, Biles and Leanne Wong pose for photos after finishing second, first and third

Simone Biles on beam at the US Gymnastics Championships

Whoever joins Jones and Biles at Worlds is left up in the air.

Reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, who spent most of the year battling a kidney problem that her doctors are still trying to get to grips with, could get a chance as a specialist after she puts together a solid balance beam routine.

One of many athletes trying to compete at the NCAA and elite levels at the same time, Wong put on two great nights with an elegant bars routine and a floor exercise that makes up for what he lacks in strength in precision.

Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, teammates of Biles at the 2020 Olympics, who have also split time between college and elite for the past two years, weren’t as sharp. Chiles fell off both the bars and the beam. Carey finished in the top 10 on only one event – jump – where the Americans would be loaded.