Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by BVN
Jon D. Gaede | BVN Sports
The road to Paris goes through San Jose. As a result, Simone Biles and several of her teammates from the Tokyo games will compete in the US National Gymnastics Championships, August 24-27.
At 26, Simone Biles is certainly one of the most successful and adored American athletes of our time. She is the most decorated US Gymnast, winning 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. Simone withdrew from most of her competitions in 2022, in-order to address the emotional toll stemming from the effects of the “twisties” at the Tokyo Olympic games.
The twisties are a serious and real phenomenon that can affect a gymnast’s natural ability to know where their body is while twisting in the air. The anxiety associated with flying blind, so to speak, takes time to overcome. Biles took last year to solve the problem, in addition to testifying on Capitol Hill to address major issues of concern regarding the state of US Women’s Gymnastics and a variety of critical issues. Oh, she married her husband too.
On her comeback to the sport, Biles will be joined by Olympic teammates Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Jade Carey who are current university student athletes. Lee is the Olympic All-Around Champion from Tokyo, Carey won gold in floor and Chiles earned a silver in the team competition. 2012 individual and all-around Olympic Champion Gabby Douglass has returned to the sport and will compete in San Jose.
As always, there is a robust youth movement in US Women’s Gymnastics. Look for Kaliya Lincoln (17), Jocelyn Roberson (17), Zoe Miller (17) and Shilese Jones to compete to make the US National Team before the World Championships in October. NBC and Peacock will broadcast the three day event.