Simone Biles Makes History As First Gymnast To Win A Record Eight Titles At U.S. Championships

girlessence août 29, 2023

By Melissa Noel ·Updated August 29, 2023

Gymnastics star Simone Biles won a record-breaking eighth U.S. Championship on Sunday night, a decade after she first rose to the top of the sport as a teenage prodigy.

Biles, who won three titles on the night in San Jose, California, became the first gymnast in history to win eight U.S. all-around titles.

“It feels really special,” Biles told NBC News after her historic win. “I’ve been doing it for so long, I feel like I don’t think about numbers; I think about my performance. And I think, overall, I hit eight for eight. I guess it’s a lucky number this year.”

.@Simone_Biles 8️⃣ this up.She's the first gymnast in history – man or woman – to win 8 U.S. all-around titles!#XfinityChamps pic.twitter.com/vcz2T3b9yN

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) August 28, 2023

The seven-time Olympic winner and 2016 Olympic individual all-around champion also won gold on the balancing beam and floor routines, finishing with a two-day all-around score of 118.45.

Her two-day winning total includes scores of 29.300 on the beam, 30.200 on the floor, 28.400 on uneven bars for the bronze on that apparatus, and 30.550 on the vault. She also got 28.400 on uneven bars for the silver.

With her victory on Sunday, the 26-year-old became the oldest woman to take home a national championship since USA Gymnastics took over the event in 1963. She also surpassed Alfred Jochim’s record of seven titles gained back when the Amateur Athletics Union ran the competition about 90 years ago, NBC News reports.

Since making her senior debut in 2013, Biles has won a total of 35 medals at national championships and 27 American titles. After the tournament, the superstar athlete was also selected for the USA Gymnastics 2023–24 Senior Women’s National Team.