Simone Biles Becomes First Woman To Win 5 U.S. All-Around Titles
Simone Biles won a record-breaking fifth U.S. all-around title at this weekend’s U.S. Gymnastics Championships while taking a stand for sexual abuse survivors.
Biles, 21, delivered a blistering performance in her second competition since her 23-month post-Olympics break. Her two-day total score was 119.850, 6.55 more than runner-up Morgan Hurd’s 113.300. Hurd had won the all-around title at the 2017 world championships.
In addition to earning the all-around title, Biles also garnered gold in all four events: floor exercise, balance beam, vault and uneven bars.
What a night for @Simone_Biles, the 2018 U.S. national all-around champion! #USGymChamps pic.twitter.com/KKkLJGuicA
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 20, 2018
Biles is the most decorated U.S. gymnast and is the first woman to win all five golds since Dominique Dawes in 1994, according to Team USA.
The all-around winner is the highest point-earner of all the events.
“It feels really special, especially coming back after such a long break,” Biles told NBC’s Andrea Joyce. She gave her performance a B+ and said “there’s still more to work on.”
After winning the all-around title, Biles revealed she wore a self-designed teal outfit on Sunday to stand for gymnasts who were abused by former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. Teal is the designated color for sexual abuse survivors. In January, Biles said she was one of Nassar’s more than 150 victims.
″[The color] is for the survivors,” Biles said on Sunday, The Associated Press reported. “I stand with all of them and I think it’s kind of special to unite [people].”
USA Gymnastics did not do anything to recognize the survivors of Nassar’s abuse at this weekend’s event. President Kerry Perry, who has been criticized for largely remaining silent on the issue, said on Sunday, “I would hope that [the athletes] know that I and all of the leaderships have their best interests in mind.”
Biles won four gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She has 14 world championship medals and is expected to add more to her collection when she joins the U.S. team in October’s world championships in Qatar.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Morgan Hurd placed first for the 2017 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships all-around title. Ragan Smith won that year.
Related Coverage
Simone Biles, 5-Time Olympic Medalist, Says Larry Nassar Sexually Abused Her, Too
Simone Biles, Aly Raisman And Jordyn Wieber React To Larry Nassar Sentencing
Entire USA Gymnastics Board Resigns Amid Larry Nassar Fallout
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.