Simone Biles wins Core Hydration Classic; Gabby Douglas withdraws

HARTFORD, Conn. – 2024 looks golden so far for Simone Biles.

Biles, a 37-time world and Olympic medalist, won the Core Hydration Classic in her first meet of the season. The competition floor in Hartford was star-studded and featured eight Olympic and world championship medalists, including Olympic champions Suni Lee and Gabby Douglas.

Douglas, who is eyeing his third Olympic team at age 28, withdrew from the competition after struggling on the uneven bars in the first rotation. She shot a clean set in the warm-up, but fell twice in the event in the 10.100 competition.

Biles started the meet with 14.550 on beam, where she is the current world champion. On the floor exercise, she competed in a skill of the same name – the double triple twist jump – for the first time since the qualifying round at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Biles achieved the highest score of the entire night – 15.600 – when performed a double Yurchenko spear on vault, another skill named after him.

She secured the all-around title with a strong showing on the uneven bars for 14.550.

“I was really happy to be back,” Biles said on the Peacock broadcast. “As long as we’re rooting for each other and hoping for the best and having confidence in each other’s gymnastics, then everything will work out.”

Shilese Jones solidified herself as the nation’s strongest all-around gymnast behind Biles, finishing second in the all-around and winning the uneven bars with an impressive 15.250.

Lee, the defending Olympic all-around champion, won the beam with 14.600. She didn’t do the uneven bars, but hopes to do all four events at the upcoming U.S. Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I think I’m starting to gain a lot more confidence on beam,” Lee said after the meet. “I think it’s super important that we start feeling nervous now, because it’s only going to get harder.”

She said she is mentally preparing herself day by day. “I’m trying to give myself some grace and realize that I’m not where I want to be yet,” Lee said. “But it’s only going to get better.”

Konnor McClain also withdrew from the competition despite a strong performance on beam. She appeared to suffer an injury while warming up for her second rotation on the floor exercise and re-emerged into the arena on crutches. McClain, the 2022 U.S. champion, helped the LSU Tigers win their first NCAA championship last month. This meet was their first elite competition in almost two years.

Saturday’s competition was the last opportunity to qualify for the U.S. Championships later this month. Biles and her fellow Olympic champions had already punched their tickets to Fort Worth, but the Clásico was an important stepping stone to making the five-member Paris Olympic team this summer.

Douglas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, had also previously qualified for the U.S. Championships but will need to petition to compete in all four events there.

The Classic is one of the few competitions this season that Selection Committee will use to determine the members of the Paris Olympic team, culminating in late June in Minneapolis at the Olympic Trials.

Biles’ victory on Saturday was her first competitive appearance since the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, in October, when she won a historic sixth individual all-around world title, medaled in three of four events and led the U.S. women to their seventh straight. victory in the team competition.

Three weeks ago, Douglas returned to competition for the first time since the 2016 Rio Olympics at the American Classic in Katy, Texas. She placed 10th in the all-around, but her vault and beam scores qualified her to compete in both US Championship events.

“I have to give myself a little grace,” Douglas said of his return. ‘It ended difficult for me in 2016, so I didn’t want to end on that note. I want to make sure I end with love and joy instead of hating something I love.

At a practice in Hartford on Friday, Douglas said he “felt a lot of nostalgia.”

“I love this generation,” she said. “We’re pushing the boundaries and saying, ‘Hey, you don’t have to be 16.’”

Gymnasts representing the U.S. in Paris will be selected at the Olympic Trials June 27-30. The athletes who will compete there will be determined at the US Championships.