Simone Biles continues to be the greatest gymnast of all time. Scratch that. One of the greatest athletes of all time.
On the first night of the U.S. Gymnastics Championship on Friday, Biles performed a double-double dismount from the beam, making history as the first person to ever attempt and land this move. The Olympian is currently vying for her sixth national title and leads the field with a score of 58.650.
“I’m really happy with the beam dismount and how it’s come along,” Biles said afterward. “If you had asked me [two weeks ago] if I was going to compete it, I would have said no.”
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Biles became the most decorated gymnast in world championships history, man or woman, back in 2018, and hasn’t slowed down since.
? WAIT FOR IT ?@Simone_Biles is the first person in history to perform this dismount and ? SHE ? NAILED ? IT. #USGymChamps pic.twitter.com/l7vVInxMJv
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) August 10, 2019
Earlier in the competition, she also made history by becoming the first woman to perform a triple-double in a floor exercise. But during her landing, Biles was forced to put both hands on the mat to avoid falling, which judges counted as a fall.
“Honestly, as soon as I fell on floor, I was like: ‘That’s it! I’m scratching the meet! I’m walking off the floor!’ ” Biles said. “Mistakes will happen. It’s the hardest skill probably in the world. At least I didn’t fall on a double or something.”
Biles is carrying that optimism into Sunday’s final with only one thing one her mind: to go even harder and bring home the title.
“I feel like I compete for perfection,” she said.
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