Taking it to the mat: Simone Biles wins sixth US gymnastics title By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.15.19 Word Count 778 Level 960L
Image 1. Simone Biles celebrates after competing in the uneven bars to win the all around senior women's competition at the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships Sunday, August 11, 2019, in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo by: Charlie Riedel/AP Photo
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The choice was entirely hers. Yet gymnast Simone Biles knew what she had to do.
Sure, she could have taken her triple-twisting double-flip (also called "the triple-double") out of her floor exercise routine the final night of the U.S. women's gymnastics championships on Sunday, August 11. She didn't need the triple-double to win another national title.
Still, her coach, Laurent Landi, left the choice to Biles. After the Olympic champion's bid to become the first woman to complete the triple-double in competition came up a bit short on Friday night, he probably knew her choice.
Landi has spent enough time in the gym around the 22-year-old to know Biles is reshaping what's possible in her sport. It quickly becomes evident that sidestepping a challenge isn't really Biles' thing.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. The First Pass
So she threw it in at the end of her first tumbling pass, fueled by ambition and unbelievable skill. When the dizzying combination ended with her feet firmly on the floor — if barely in bounds — a jolt shook through the packed arena. The smile on her face was unmistakable. The competition — just like it has been for six years and counting whenever Biles is involved — was over.
The triple-double served as the capper on her sixth national championship. Her two-day total of 118.500 was nearly five points clear of 16-year-old Sunisa Lee in second and almost seven points ahead of Grace McCallum in third.
Yet Biles doesn't pay too much attention to her margin of victory or scores. She's been a regular atop the podium for six years and counting. Attempting to find the boundaries of her immense talent is what drives her.
It's why she got so angry after putting both hands down as she tried to land the triple-double on August 9. It's why she never thought about ditching it. It's why she sneaked a peek at her phone while rotating from floor to balance beam, typically a no-no during a meet.
"I wanted to see how it looked," she said.
Here's a word to describe it: historic.
"It's like she hit a hole in one and we were all there," USA Gymnastics high performance director Tom Forster said. "It's a big deal and we all know it. No one in the world has done it before in the [women's competitions] and actually, she does it better than most of the men who have done it."
Biles knew what she'd achieved.
Perfectionist Handling The Pressure
"I was a lot happier today," Biles said. "I feel I haven't been as confident on bars this year as I was last year. To finally do a good routine like I can do it, I was really happy. I was very happy and it was the last event, so I was like, 'Thank God we're done.'"
She's not done for long, though. Biles is two months away from a trip to the world championships — where her 20 medals are tied for the most by a female gymnast — and a year from an Olympic return. She was a sensation in 2016, with two weeks of gymnastics that came as close to perfect as the sport allows.
A year to go before a return trip to the Olympics, Biles is even better, and it's not really close.
"She's a freaking beast," said MyKayla Skinner, an alternate on the 2016 Olympic team who clinched a spot on the national team by finishing eighth. "Like, I don't even understand. I always ask her, 'Do you realize how good you are?' And she's like 'Yeah, but I don't know.' It just comes so naturally, it's amazing."
In a sport that sometimes forces athletes to choose between skill and execution, Biles doesn't have to. She not only puts together the most difficult routines in the world, she does them better than anyone else. Biles won floor, balance beam and vault and finished third on bars even with her "meh" set on August 9.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. "She does stuff that I never thought people could do," Lee said.
Lee and 2017 world champion Morgan Hurd were the only women in the field to place ahead of Biles in any event. They finished one-two on bars.
It speaks to the inner perfectionist in Biles that even after finishing the triple-double, she still knows it wasn't quite her best.
"It wasn't as good as in some of the trainings," she said. "But I'm just happy that I landed it because after night one, my confidence got shot down. So I was really worried about it going into today and that was all I could worry about."
Not anymore.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz
1 Read the list of sentences from the article.
1. The competition — just like it has been for six years and counting whenever Biles is involved — was over. 2. Biles is two months away from a trip to the world championships — where her 20 medals are tied for the most by a female gymnast — and a year from an Olympic return. 3. She was a sensation in 2016, with two weeks of gymnastics that came as close to perfect as the sport allows. 4. She not only puts together the most difficult routines in the world, she does them better than anyone else.
What CENTRAL idea do these details support?
(A) Biles made history by landing her triple-double.
(B) Biles won the U.S. gymnastics title for the sixth time.
(C) Biles is known for attempting difficult moves.
(D) Biles has dominated female gymnastics for several years.
2 Which sentence from the article would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?
(A) She didn't need the triple-double to win another national title.
(B) The triple-double served as the capper on her sixth national championship.
(C) A year to go before a return trip to the Olympics, Biles is even better, and it's not really close.
(D) She's been a regular atop the podium for six years and counting.
3 Read the sentence from the section “The First Pass.”
Attempting to find the boundaries of her immense talent is what drives her.
Which of the following words, if it replaced the word "immense" in the sentence above, would CHANGE the meaning of the sentence?
(A) limited
(B) huge
(C) impressive
(D) extensive
4 Read the following sentence from the section “Perfectionist Handling The Pressure.” Then, fill in the blank.
It speaks to the inner perfectionist in Biles that even after finishing the triple-double, she still knows it wasn't quite her best.
The word "perfectionist" in the sentence above tells the reader that ____.
(A) Biles' routines are always perfect
(B) Biles always wants to do well
(C) Biles is easily upset when things don't go well
(D) Biles is used to failing at new moves
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Answer Key
1 Read the list of sentences from the article.
1. The competition — just like it has been for six years and counting whenever Biles is involved — was over. 2. Biles is two months away from a trip to the world championships — where her 20 medals are tied for the most by a female gymnast — and a year from an Olympic return. 3. She was a sensation in 2016, with two weeks of gymnastics that came as close to perfect as the sport allows. 4. She not only puts together the most difficult routines in the world, she does them better than anyone else.
What CENTRAL idea do these details support?
(A) Biles made history by landing her triple-double.
(B) Biles won the U.S. gymnastics title for the sixth time.
(C) Biles is known for attempting difficult moves.
(D) Biles has dominated female gymnastics for several years.
2 Which sentence from the article would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?
(A) She didn't need the triple-double to win another national title.
(B) The triple-double served as the capper on her sixth national championship.
(C) A year to go before a return trip to the Olympics, Biles is even better, and it's not really close.
(D) She's been a regular atop the podium for six years and counting.
3 Read the sentence from the section “The First Pass.”
Attempting to find the boundaries of her immense talent is what drives her.
Which of the following words, if it replaced the word "immense" in the sentence above, would CHANGE the meaning of the sentence?
(A) limited
(B) huge
(C) impressive
(D) extensive
4 Read the following sentence from the section “Perfectionist Handling The Pressure.” Then, fill in the blank.
It speaks to the inner perfectionist in Biles that even after finishing the triple-double, she still knows it wasn't quite her best.
The word "perfectionist" in the sentence above tells the reader that ____.
(A) Biles' routines are always perfect
(B) Biles always wants to do well
(C) Biles is easily upset when things don't go well
(D) Biles is used to failing at new moves
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.