Simone Biles, who returned to competition in August after a two-year hiatus, qualified on Tuesday for the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp at the end of September, where she should become the first American to participate in six World Championships.
The 26-year-old world gymnastics superstar won the all-around for the American selection for the Worlds, which guarantees him a place on the team in Belgium, explained the American Federation (USA Gymnastics) in a statement.
Biles, who won a record eighth all-around title at the National Championships at the end of August, becomes “the first American in history selected for six Artistic Gymnastics Worlds,” welcomed the American Olympic Committee (Team USA) on X (formerly Twitter).
She could expand her harvest of 19 titles during these World Championships organized from September 30 to October 8 in the Flemish city, where she opened her tally in 2013 with four medals, including two gold.
The Worlds come nine months before the Olympics in Paris, where the four-time Olympic gold medalist said recently she would “love” to win more titles.
Biles did not confirm his participation in the Worlds but reposted Team USA’s message, without comment.
Until recently, she wanted to remain discreet about her sporting objectives since her return to competition, wanting to maintain the balance between sport and her private life.
She withdrew from most of the 2021 Olympics events in Japan for mental health and safety reasons. The gymnast explained that she had experienced an attack of “twisties”, dangerous loss of bearings in space exposing athletes to the risk of injury when they land.
Simone Biles, who married an American football player in April, also became involved in the fight against sexual abuse after being one of the victims of attacks committed by former national team doctor Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to life in 2018.
