Biles the prohibitive favorite on road back from long layoff
Olympic champion from Spring worries about ‘burning out’
BOSTON — USA Gymnastics national championships begin Thursday night at the TD Garden without a title sponsor, which reflects the degree to which the sport’s financial underpinnings, as well as its moral core, has been rocked by the Larry Nassar scandal.
It does, however, begin with Simone Biles in the house, which is not a bad platform on which to mount a comeback.
Biles, 21, the four-time Olympic gold medalist from Spring who resumed competition last month after a two-year layoff, is the prohibitive favorite to rack up another national all-around title en route to another world championships appearance.
All of them are road stops on the way to what she hopes is a second Olympic appearance in 2020 in Tokyo.
Biles posted the top score recorded by any gymnast this year at the U.S. Classic in Columbus, Ohio, but said Wednesday she still feels a little uneasy about prospects for nationals because of its two-day format, with performances Friday and Sunday night.
“I was a lot more confident at Classic, because I’m worried about the two-day competition and not burning out,” she said. “But it should still go well. … Hopefully, I go out there and hit eight-for-eight (routines over two days) and try not to drain myself too much.”
Biles’ level of difficulty is such that she can win even with a fall, which was the case at the Columbus meet when she struggled on uneven bars, her weakest event. It’s also the event on which she is
attempting to add the most significant upgrades to her routine under the direction of her new coach, Laurent Landi, who coached 2016 Olympic silver medalist Madison Kocian of Dallas.
Biles likely will share the podium with the likes of Morgan Hurd of Middletown, Del., who won the 2017 world all-around championship during Biles’ absence from competition, and defending national champion Ragan Smith of suburban Dallas.
While she has not missed any training time, Biles has been hampered in recent weeks by injured toes on both feet, with the left toe injury being the most painful. She made it through Wednesday’s training session with no evident difficulties.
The men’s competition begins Thursday night with two-time Olympian Sam Mikulak seeking a fifth national all-around title, which would make him the first men’s gymnast since four-time Olympian Blaine Wilson to win five.
University of Oklahoma gymnast Yul Moldauer, who won the 2017 title as Mikulak was limited to two events while recovering from injuries, is expected to contend along with 2016 Olympic alternates Akash Modi and Donnell Whittenburg.
The top Houston-area entrant is former OU gymnast Colin Van Wicklen of Magnolia, who trains at Cypress Academy of Gymnastics. Van Wicklen was the top scorer at a qualifying meet last month in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“This is going to be a meet that isn’t just for this year but for the 2019 world team and the 2020 Olympic Games,” Van Wicklen said. “I want to go out there and show the committee that I am going to be in the running for the team.”
USA Gymnastics has had a title sponsor for its national championships for more than two decades.
But the federation has lost affiliations with such sponsors as Under Armour, AT&T, Kellogg, Proctor & Gamble and Hershey since the 2016 revelations that Nassar, a longtime USA Gymnastics sports doctor who was employed by Michigan State, sexually abused hundreds of young women under the guise of medical care.