By C. Perera, JadeTimes News
On the first day of the senior women's all around competition, 27 year old Simone Biles made her mark by taking the lead with a remarkable score of 60.450. Kayla Dicello was in third place, not far behind Skye Blakely in second. With a perfect Yurchenko double pike and a Cheng to start her routine on the vault, Biles demonstrated her skill and earned the best score in the competition, 15.800. Even though uneven bars were considered her "weakest" event, Biles was still performing well; she scored a respectable 14.650, increasing her lead after two rounds.
Her performance was further reinforced by her mastery of the balancing beam, where she ended with a score of 14.800. Biles ended the night on the floor with a score of 15.200, securing her lead and paving the way for a good opportunity to secure her ninth consecutive record breaking all around triumph in the national championships, a crucial competition prior to the Olympic Trials in late June.
Fourth place went to Suni Lee, another Olympian, while eighth place went to Jade Carey, the current floor champion. Following the Olympic Trials, the women's team that will compete in Paris 2024 will be finalised, with a spot guaranteed for the all around competition winner. In an attempt to make it to her third Olympic Games, Biles is thinking back to the difficult time she had three years ago with the "twisties," which forced her to withdraw from multiple events.
On the opening day of the men's tournament, Brody Malone easily defeated Fred Richard and Maksim Kan. Returning in March 2023 with a serious knee injury, Malone, the 2022 World champion in the high bar for 2022, who showed tenacity, was ready for Saturday's tournament final day.