Graduation, lack of opportunity force most gymnasts to quit. A women's league is out to change that

Luisa Blanco knows her gymnastics career has an expiration date. The funny thing is, the older the recent Alabama graduate gets, the more it seems to keep getting pushed back. For a long time, the 22-year-old Blanco figured her final season with the Crimson Tide this...

Simone Manuel returns from overtraining syndrome with her eyes on Paris Olympics

ATLANTA (AP) — As Simone Manuel zig-zags her way through a cramped deck brimming with swimmers, she's reminded there are still some things she finds annoying about her sport. “I'm not sure a crowded pool deck is always the most fun,” she quips, breaking into a grin. “I don't...

Simone Biles cruises to 9th national title and gives Olympic champ Sunisa Lee a boost along the way

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — There used to be a time when Simone Biles would find “beauty in the blindness” ahead of the Olympics, reveling in not knowing what she didn't know. That was eight years ago. Back when she was still just a teenager. Still kind of “ditzy.” ...

Gymnast Simone Biles easily wins her ninth U.S. Championships all-around title as she eyes trip to a third Olympics

Skye Blakely ‘shut down’ after the 2021 Olympic trials. A mental coach helped bring her back

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Skye Blakely didn't want to hear it. Just like most teenagers whenever their parents offer to help. Stephanie and Steven Blakely approached their youngest daughter twice in the aftermath of the 2021 Olympic trials — a meet that ended with the...

Simone Biles, looking perhaps better than ever, surges to early lead at US Championships

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — It's not the skills, otherworldly though they may be, that Simone Biles has displayed so regularly for so long that stand out so much anymore, at least not to the ones who know her best. The question with the gymnastics superstar — the only question...

Olympic gymnastics hopeful Shilese Jones pulls out of U.S. championships with a shoulder injury

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Shilese Jones pulled out of the U.S. gymnastics championships on Friday with a shoulder injury. The 21-year-old Jones, considered a leading contender to make the five-woman U.S. Olympic team this summer, plans to petition USA Gymnastics for a spot at the...

Simone Biles shines in return while Gabby Douglas scratches after a shaky start at the U.S. Classic

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months to go before the Olympic games begin. The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the U.S. Classic on Saturday, posting an all-around...

Olympic champion Gabby Douglas' comeback takes another important step at the U.S. Classic

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Olympic gymnastics champion Gabby Douglas' comeback following an eight-year layoff will take another important step on Saturday at the U.S. Classic. Douglas, who became the first Black woman to win the Olympic all-around title when she soared to gold at the...

Simone Biles is stepping into the Olympic spotlight again. She is better prepared for the pressure

SPRING, Texas (AP) — Simone Biles is not “cured.” Let's start there. A cure implies finality. An ultimate and decisive victory. If the gymnastics superstar has learned anything in the three years since those strange, uncertain days in Tokyo when she put her...