Simone Biles returns to competition for first time in 2 years, wins all-around title

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Four-time Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Simone Biles returned to competition in earnest on Saturday, winning the all-around event in her first action since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

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Biles, 26, the world’s most decorated gymnast with 25 medals at the World Championships and seven at the Olympics, competed at the Core Hydration Classic in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, CNN reported.

Biles takes first in all-around event

Update 10:27 p.m. EDT Aug. 5: Simone Biles’ return to competition had a familiar ring to it: Another gold medal. Biles, 26, took first place in the all-around competition, The Washington Post reported.

Biles defeated runner-up Leanne Wong by five points. She also completed her most difficult vault, the Yurchenko double pike, according to the newspaper.

Original report: Biles scored a 14 on the uneven parallel bars, two years and a day after winning a bronze medal at the Toyko Olympics, according to CNN.

Biles withdrew from the team final in gymnastics after becoming disoriented with a mental block known in gymnastics circles as “the twisties,” The Washington Post reported.

Biles was attempting a two-and-a-half twisting vault, and later withdrew from the all-around competition and the finals in the vault, bar and floor exercises, according to the newspaper.

Biles is registered to compete in all four events at the Core Hydration Classic, a spokesperson for USA Gymnastics told CNN.

The meet is the final qualifier for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which will be held in San Jose, California, from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27, ESPN reported.

The world gymnastics championships will follow in Antwerp, Belgium, from Sept. 30 through Oct. 8, according to CNN.

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Photos: Simone Biles through the years Here are some memorable photos of seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles through the years. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)