Los Angeles: Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles made a triumphant, if imperfect, return to competition, winning the senior all-around crown at the US Classic in Columbus, Ohio.
Biles, who tied an Olympic record with five medals, four of them gold, at the Rio Games, hadn’t competed since 2016 and she showed some signs of nerves with a fall and a few uncharacteristic wobbles. Nevertheless, Biles took the senior all-around title with a total of 58.700 points.
Riley McCusker of Brielle, New Jersey, tallied 57.500 for second, with 2017 World all-around champion Morgan Hurd rounding out the top three at 56.350. Biles won two of the four event titles: balance beam and floor exercise as she qualified for the US championships next month with the World Championships coming up in October.
“I feel pretty good with where I’m at in this time of the year, and even from Rio I feel like I’ve improved. I’m pretty proud of myself at this point,” said Biles, who is already looking ahead toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.