HOFFMAN, ESTATES—Four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles made a triumphant return to gymnastics after a two-year hiatus on Saturday, winning the US Classic in her first competition since the Tokyo Olympics.
Biles electrified a sellout crowd in suburban Chicago with a stunning performance, receiving an all-around judges’ total score of 59.100 points.
The 26-year-old American star had the meet’s top scores on vault, floor exercise and balance beam and was third overall on the uneven bars.
“Did it look like I was having fun? Oh thank God,” Biles said afterward. “I thought I was going to ____ bricks, but that’s good.”
Biles took a leave of absence from the sport due to mental health issues.
It can be recalled that her USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after an emotional testimony by scores of women he sexually abused for years under the guise of medical treatment.
Minutes ahead of the sentencing, Nassar apologized in court to his victims, who included Olympic gold-medal winning gymnasts Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney but also scores of female athletes at Michigan State University, where he worked.