US gymnastics championships: Simone Biles wins record ninth national all-around title

was so massive, and her eponymous vault so difficult, that her victory was already all but assured.

Biles won her record ninth all-around national title Sunday night, cruising to victory once again at Dickies Arena en route to what will surely be a third trip to the Olympic Games. Over two nights of competition, she recorded the highest score on all four events. And her all-around margin of victory – 5.9 points – was the gymnastics equivalent of a rout.

Biles, 27, will now look ahead to the U.S. Olympic trials at the end of this month – the moment when she will learn who her four teammates on Team USA will be”I couldn’t be more proud of how I’m doing at this time in the year,” Biles said on NBC after her win. “Just gaining that confidence over and over, getting myself back in front of a crowd and just doing what I do in practice.”

Skye Blakely, who finished second, was among several women who boosted their candidacies for Paris – displaying the combination of consistency and ability that the selection committee will be seeking as it assembles the 2024 Olympic team. Suni Lee, the reigning all-around Olympic champion, also had a strong showing – particularly on her two best events, uneven bars and balance beam. On Sunday, she improved her scores on those two apparatuses alone by nearly a full point from Friday’s opening round. She finished fourth.

Kayla DiCello (third) and Jordan Chiles (fifth) rounded out the top five.