Truly legendary athletes are never satisfied, regardless of the result, and will constantly nitpick their performances. This is exactly what Simone Biles did over the weekend after winning all five gold medals at the U.S. Championships, and becoming the first athlete to win five women’s all-around titles.
Simone Biles won 5 gold medals at the U.S. Championships and still gave herself a B+
Legend!
Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
“I’d give it a B-plus,” Biles said, speaking to NBC’s Andrea Joyce after walking away with every single title available, “I knew I was capable of [scoring this well], but I kind of thought I was going to be a nervous wreck and maybe fall apart.”
Biles won the women’s all-around title, as well as getting gold in floor, uneven bars, beam, and vault to sweep the U.S. Championships. The feat was the first time a woman has swept the U.S. Championships since Dominique Dawes in 1994, and the first time since 1971 that a non-teenager has won the women’s all-around title.
Throughout the weekend Biles wore teal, the awareness color for sexual abuse and made a statement through her performance after taking a 14-month break following the Rio Olympics and during the Larry Nassar sexual abuse trial. Biles’ new coach, Laurent Landi, spoke of the difficulties leading up to the U.S. Championships:
“To handle the pressure, to handle the media, to handle everybody, all the expectation, that’s mentally draining.”
When asked after the event what international competitors must be thinking after seeing her continue to dominate she laughed and said. “Maybe that I should probably quit.”
Here’s Biles’ amazing final day:
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