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Simone Biles returns to competition with historic vault

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Agence France-Presse 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/05/23/biles.jpg"/><figcaption>Simone Biles of the U.S. in action during the women&#x27;s floor final on the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. File Photo.<em> Wolfgang Rattay, Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>LOS ANGELES -- US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles returned to competition with a bang Saturday, completing an historic vault to launch her final run to the Tokyo Olympics.</p><p>The five-time Olympic gold medallist, who hadn&#x27;t competed since winning five golds, including a fifth all-around title, at the 2019 World Championships, delivered on the vault she&#x27;s been preparing -- a Yurchenko double pike -- at the US Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana.</p><p>The vault, featuring a roundoff onto the springboard and back handspring into a piked double backflip, had never before been done in women&#x27;s competition.</p><p>Biles sailed through it with so much power that she over-rotated slightly and stepped back on the landing.</p><p>&quot;I was just thinking, do it like training,&quot; she said of her mindset as she took off down the runway.</p><p>&quot;Don&#x27;t try to overdo anything, because I have a tendency as soon as I raise my hand to kind of overpower things. I did a little bit, but at least I still was on my feet and it&#x27;s a new vault.&quot;</p><p>Posts of Biles completing the vault in practice had set social media sites buzzing. NBA superstar LeBron James had retweeted a video of Biles landing it.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="es">SIMONE BILES🔥 <a href="https://t.co/HV1NQazLhE">pic.twitter.com/HV1NQazLhE</a></p>— FloGymnastics (@FloGymnastics) <a href="https://twitter.com/FloGymnastics/status/1395763336747302918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2021</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>&quot;It&#x27;s nice to see all the support,&quot; Biles said, adding that she was &quot;feeling confident&quot; heading into the US championships June 3-6.</p><p>They&#x27;ll be followed by the US Olympic Trials June 24-27, where the top two finishers will book Tokyo berths, along with two other gymnasts named by USA Gymnastics selectors.</p><p>Biles wasn&#x27;t perfect on Saturday. In addition to her step back on the vault landing she had a bobble on her floor routine and on the asymmetrical bars.</p><p>But she won the all-around competition with a score of 58.400, with Jordan Chiles second on 57.100 points and Kayla DiCello third on 56.100.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m just happy to be back out here on the competition floor in an arena with all of the girls, especially after the long year and time off we&#x27;ve had,&quot; Biles said.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles returned to competition with a bang Saturday, completing an historic vault to launch her final run to the Tokyo Olympics.</p>

US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles returned to competition with a bang Saturday, completing an historic vault to launch her final run to the Tokyo Olympics.