Biles returns to Worlds after two-year gap

The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships return to Antwerp, host of the first edition 120 years ago, and it is a familiar hunting ground for Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the competition’s history.

The American won the first of her five world all-around titles in 2013 at the age of 16 in the Flemish capital and has since become a household name after winning a record 25 medals at the worlds including a jawdropping 19 golds.

At 26, she will become not only the oldest US woman to compete at the worlds in more than half a century but also the first woman to represent the US at six artistic world championships when it kicks off on Saturday.

The Americans are seeking a seventh successive team title, but all eyes will be on Biles to see if she can hit the same lofty heights as she returns to international competition after a twoyear break from the sport to protect her mental health.

Biles made headlines at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when she withdrew from multiple events due to the “twisties” ,a loss of spatial awareness in midair, an experience that can be terrifying for even the most experienced gymnasts.

But when she returned for the US Gymnastics Championships last month, it was as if she had never left as she warmed up for the worlds with a record eighth all-around national title to earn a standing ovation from the

San José crowd.

However, Biles has not competed at the worlds since the 2019 championships in Stuttgart, where she earned five golds and had new skills named after her when she successfully landed her signature moves.

The Paris Games in 2024 are her ultimate target but the fourtime Olympic champion said she will approach her third Games a bit differently, focusing on being fully fit physically and mentally.

The top nine teams in Antwerp are set to receive five quota places each at the Paris Olympics. The US, Britain and Canada’s women secured team quota spots last year while China, Japan and Britain secured men’s quotas.

While the US men have yet to qualify, the women are overwhelming favourites for top spot, but Biles will have competition for the individual all-round gold 2022 all-around champion Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo, is a serious contender as is Biles’s 21-year-old compatriot Shilese Jones, silver medallist at the worlds last year.