Simone Biles' record eighth US gymnastics title will be one to remember

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Simone Biles can be forgiven if she doesn’t remember much from the first of what are now a record eight U.S. titles.

It was 10 years ago and life was just slightly different then. She was a teenager, only a few months past her 16^th birthday. Had yet to go to an Olympics, let alone win four gold medals at the Summer Games. Hadn’t been to a world championships, either, or started amassing what’s now an unrivaled collection of medals and titles.

But as she nears the end of her career, whenever that might be, Biles is trying to do things differently. Savor it more. Celebrate it more, both her own achievements and those of her teammates.

"I think sometimes you black out whenever all those things happen," Biles said Sunday night. "I also think whenever I won those titles back in the day, we were focusing on the next thing. What’s next? … We never got to settle in and celebrate that.

"Now, moving forward, we really try to celebrate our success, individually and as a team," she added. "Just so that, in a couple of years, we can remember those. Because I really don’t remember a lot from the past."

As impressive as that past is − three other Olympic medals to go with the four golds, and a record 25 medals at the world championships, 19 of them gold − the present has the potential to be even better.

Her eighth U.S. title broke a tie with Alfred Jochim, who competed so long ago rope climbing and Indian clubs were part of gymnastics. She’s won them over a 10-year span that’s included two breaks of a year, or more, to recharge, and one year lost to COVID.

Biles isn’t resting on her laurels, either. Just as she did with her previous comebacks, she’s upped what was already an incredibly high standard. She’s older and wiser, but stronger and more dynamic, too.

She didn’t do the Yurchenko double pike Sunday because she tweaked her ankle on it the first night of competition and "there was no need to do it just for show," co-coach Laurent Landi said. Instead, she did a massive Cheng, only the second-most difficult vault being done these days and one she got back just a few weeks ago.

She made a balance beam routine that's jam-packed with series after series of difficult elements look like child’s play. And she capped her night with what Landi called, "the best floor routine I’ve ever seen her do." Each one of her tumbling passes was landed without a wiggle or a wobble. That included the Biles I, which was groundbreaking when she debuted it 2013 but has become almost ordinary.

For her, that is.

"You can’t teach this kind of − competition level," Landi said. "It’s a skill that she has to compete so confidently at such a high level. Because the routines are not easy. Maybe some people think it’s easier for her, but it’s not easier for her."

Biles could have made her break after the Tokyo Olympics a permanent one. She has nothing to prove to anyone, and there is more to her life than gymnastics now. She got married in the spring, and she and her husband are doing the long-distance thing while she trains in their home of Houston and he plays for the Green Bay Packers.

But Tokyo didn’t go how she expected and certainly not how she wanted. The anxiety from the expectations on her, aggravated by the isolation of COVID, brought on a case of “the twisties” and forced her to withdraw from all but one event final.

She didn’t want that to be the way she went out. More than that, she wanted to create lasting memories of what she’s done rather than all those fuzzy fragments of the earlier years.

"I’m in the moment, but it also doesn’t feel real for some reason," Biles said. "I just seriously can’t believe I’m out here competing again. I just really can’t. So I’m proud of myself for that."

Biles isn’t doing this alone, either. She has full trust in Landi and his wife and co-coach, Cecile, to get her ready for whatever it is that comes next.

But she counts on her teammates to help her, too. When she’s having tough days in training, they’re the ones who pump her up. When she trotted off the podium after that floor exercise, longtime training mate Jordan Chiles waved her hands at the crowd, encouraging them to cheer louder for Biles.

"She’s an idol. An icon. A legend in this sport," Chiles said. “This is a hard sport. She’s 26 years old and she’s doing big gymnastics. When you can succeed and do everything she’s doing, you should give people their flowers."

Years from now, those are the things Biles will cherish. That, and that she had the courage to come back, to compete again when she wasn’t sure she would. Or could.

"It’s our story to write," she said, "our ending to tell."

One definitely worth remembering.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.