“Smile hid my bitter disappointment” – When Simone Biles opened up about missing out on qualifying for the US National Gymnastics team

Simone Biles once opened up the heartbreaking moment when she missed earning a spot in the national team by a razor-thin margin. She began her elite gymnastics career in 2011 as a junior and competed in the Visa National Championships, which served as the qualifying event for national team selection.

Biles competed in all four apparatus, posting a total of 108.100 points. However, she lost the spot in the national team after settling in 14th place, when only the first 13-place finishers were selected for the national team.

In her autobiography Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance published in 2016, she reflected on how she masked her deep disappointment after missing out by just one spot. Biles highlighted how her entire season’s focus was to make the national team, but fell short.

“While I’d loved meeting so many of my idols and competing against the best my sport had to offer, the meet hadn’t turned out for me the way I’d dreamed,” she wrote. “My bright, pasted-on smile hid my bitter disappointment. Coming in at number fourteen in the rankings, I’d missed making the thirteen-woman team by a hair, but it might as well have been a mile.”

Biles added: “Everything felt unreal in that moment, like a bad dream I couldn’t wake up from. I had spent the entire competitive season with one goal in mind, to make the national team. But I’d come up short.”

Simone Biles went on to register the record of winning most all-around titles at the national championships

After the 2024 National Championships victory, Simone Biles now holds the record for most national championships titles. She has collected the titles at 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024 editions.

She topped all the events at the 2024 National Championships held at the Dickies Arena in Forth Worth, Texas, including the individual all-around title. While doing so, she further cemented her legacy by becoming the oldest gymnast to have won the title.

Biles scored a total of 119.750 points, defeating Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello, who bagged 113.850 and 110.800 points, respectively. She carved her way through to the 2024 Paris Games. At the French capital, she clinched four medals, including three gold and one silver, in all-around, team, vault, and floor, respectively. This victory made her the most decorated American Olympic gymnast.