US Trials: Simone Biles Disappointed with Balance Beam Performance
Simone Biles led the first day of the US Trials, held at the Target Center in Minneapolis, but expressed disappointment with her performance on the balance beam. Biles, considered the most important gymnast since Nadia Comaneci, did not reach the level she expected, finishing in fifth place with a score of 13,650.
After the exercise, Biles told NBC, “I’m really disappointed in myself because that’s not how I train. So, from now on, I will try to compete as I train in that event. Because I know I’m good at it. I know I can do better. So I’m going to work on that.”
Despite her disappointment on the balance beam, Biles shone in other events, particularly in vault and floor exercises. She scored 15.975 on vault and 14.850 on floor, leading the table with a gap of two and a half points over the second-placed gymnast, Jordan Chiles.
Biles performed two superb exercises, including a triple double in floor exercise, which is one of her signature moves. Although she did not reach the 15-point barrier, she still impressed the judges with a score of 6,900 difficulty. In the vault exercise, she broke the flag with a double Yurchenko, which the judges evaluated as 9.575 out of 10.
Unfortunately, the event was marked by an injury to Shilese Jones, the world runner-up in Liverpool in 2022, who was only able to participate in the uneven bars due to a knee injury sustained during the warm-up.