Simone Biles returning to site of first world championships 10 years later

The last time Simone Biles went to a world gymnastics championships in Antwerp, Belgium, Joscelyn Roberson was 7.

Now the 17-year-old Roberson will be alongside Biles as she and the Americans return to Antwerp for another world championships. Shilese Jones, Leanne Wong and Skye Blakely, who were all part of the team that won the title at last year's worlds, also made the team.

The U.S. women began their pursuit of what would be a record seventh consecutive world title with qualifying on Oct. 1.

"It's full circle," Biles said Wednesday night after the conclusion of the two-day selection camp. "I went to Antwerp in 2013 so now to go in 2023 is pretty crazy. I'm really excited. I think we'll have a really great team."

Kayla DiCello was named the alternate for the world team and also made the squad for the Pan American Games. Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles, Kaliya Lincoln, Zoe Miller and Tiana Sumanasekera round out the Pan Am squad.

Biles had locked her spot on the world team Tuesday night, having finished with the highest score in the all-around competition despite errors on all four events. She had a much better day Wednesday, posting the highest score of the entire two-day meet, a 14.9, with a near-flawless balance beam routine and looking solid on uneven bars.

Gymnasts were only asked to do two events Wednesday.

"Yesterday was obviously a rough day but it's better now," Biles said. "I feel like everybody was nervous yesterday, not just me. And I don't know why. But it was just rough. So today was a lot better."

For everyone, which made the selection committee's job easier.

There was never any doubt Jones would be on the team. She was the silver all-around medalist at last year's world championships and runner-up to Biles at last month's national championships, and was one error away from upsetting Biles on Tuesday night.

But she made her case, anyway. Jones' uneven bars routine was gorgeous and, if she does anything close at worlds, will put her in medal contention. Her 14.750 on bars was the second-highest score of the two-day meet and her 14.35 on beam trailed only Biles and Blakely on Wednesday.

Wong also wasn't in question. She's like a utility infielder, able to deliver a solid score on any event, in any portion of the competition. Blakely fell off uneven bars Wednesday, but she's been so solid on that event, as well as beam and vault, over the last two years that the committee could easily disregard the fluke.

That left the fifth spot.

Unlike swimming or track, where the people with the fastest times make the team, rank order doesn't always produce the highest-scoring gymnastics team because of the scoring format. In qualifying, teams will put four gymnasts up on each event and drop the lowest score.

In the team final, however, it's an unforgiving three-up, three-count format. Have a hole on an event, or have a gymnast who is inconsistent, and you can kiss a medal goodbye.

Roberson, who trains with Biles after moving to the World Champions Centre last year, was second on both vault and floor exercise Tuesday, events where the U.S. needs another big score. That, coupled with some errors by Lincoln on Wednesday, was enough to give Roberson the edge.

A pleasant surprise

Biles was expecting to be disappointed.

No surprise, given international gymnastics officials have made a habit of undervaluing her incredible skills because they don’t want to give other gymnasts any ideas. So when she got word her Yurchenko double pike will have a 6.4 difficulty score, exactly what she and her coaches asked for, it almost didn’t register.

“They told me and my reaction was like, `OK,’” Biles said. "… (Because) in the past, we’ve asked for stuff and then you don’t get rewarded for it. So we were actually very shocked. So I’m actually really happy about that.

“Maybe,” she joked, “we should ask for higher!”

The 6.4 makes the Yurchenko double pike worth eight-tenths more than the next-most difficult vault being done today, the Cheng. But it’s deserved because of the difficulty of the skill and the risk involved.

The strength required to pull the body around in a piked position not once but twice is immense, and there's no bailout. Do it wrong, and a gymnast could easily land on his or her head. It’s why no other woman besides Biles has done it in competition, and very few men even try it.

But unlike some gymnasts, Biles does not chuck skills for the heck of it. When she does something in competition, it often comes after months if not years of working on it in training.

That’s evident with the Yurchenko double pike. When Biles did it at last month’s national championships, she got a 9.8 for execution.

“It is a little bit crazy to see, but I do it a lot in the gym. Probably more than people think,” she said.

Biles’ second vault is the Cheng. Asked if she’s still working the Amanar, Biles said no.

The Amanar was the vault she was supposed to do at the Tokyo Olympics when she got the "twisties," causing her to lose her sense of where she was in the air. Biles wound up withdrawing from the team final and four event finals. She returned for the balance beam final and won a bronze medal.

“I think (coach Laurent Landi) is a little bit more stressed about (the Amanar) because of what happened,” Biles said. “I think after this we could play around with it just because, but I’m not sure.”