Simone Biles’ boyfriend shares sweet tribute to gymnast following record win
Biles recently broke a record by winning her seventh national women's all-around title
Simone Biles is at the top of her game and it seems no one is more excited about that than her boyfriend, NFL star Jonathan Owens.
According to reports, Sunday, the four-time Olympic gold medalist broke a record by winning her seventh national women’s all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 24-year-old won with a score of 119.650 which was 4.7 points ahead of runner-up Sunisa Lee and is expected to be an incredibly vital member of the USA Women’s Gymnastics team for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
READ MORE: Simone Biles wins seventh U.S. gymnastics championship
Biles’ seven titles are the most by any American woman, and Owens made it a point to skip an OTA (organized team practice activities) with the NFL just to be on hand to cheer her on. The Houston, Texas resident not only captured Bile’s magical moments on the mat from the stands, but he also posted them on social media to keep fans informed while marveled at her seemingly superhuman athleticism.
“What an amazing experience,” Owens wrote on social media. “First time getting to watch you compete in person and you didn’t disappoint. It’s so cool that i get to watch you do what you love, and be the best at that! I’m so proud of you my lil champ. Trials up next and you already know I’m there!! Love you baby.”
“I love you so much,” she reportedly replied to the loving tribute. ” I’m so happy you got to come watch while in the middle of OTA’s. you a real one.”
“I feel like I did try to enjoy it because it could be one of my last championships that I’ll attend,” Biles explained, according to the official Olympics website. “But it’s also the road to Tokyo, and after this we have trials, so we just have to really embrace the moment.”
Winning at a whole new level
Last month, the Olympic champion also made history when she participated in the U.S. Classic in Indianapolis and performed the Yurchenko Double Pike – a gymnastic vault that has never been landed by a woman in competition.
But as we previously reported, the judges scoring Biles were not impressed with her Black Girl Magic and gave the decorated gymnast a provisional scoring value of 6.6, similar to what she received in the past for other vaults.
Naturally, while Biles couldn’t express her frustration with this score in the moment and risk being penalized, her spirit was certainly serving up plenty of side up over the points.
“I feel like now we just have to get what we get because there’s no point in putting up a fight because they’re not going to reward it,” she said of judges and the International Gymnastics Federation. “So we just have to take it and be quiet.”
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Biles, the defending Olympic champion in the all-around, said she would continue doing her difficult and distinctive moves during competition “because I can,” she told reporters.
Throughout 2020, Biles had been ambiguous about whether she would perform the move in competition, at times previewing her ability to do it to the world and at others suggesting it was too risky.
“In gymnastics, almost everything has been done so when you push boundaries there is a risk factor — risk vs reward,” she said last March. “Gymnastics can be a dangerous sport so you have to be smart,” she told PEOPLE in 2020.
The Yurchenko Double Pike consists of a round-off onto a springboard, a back handspring onto the vaulting table, and flips into the air, NBC Sports explains. The maneuvers are named for trailblazing Russian gymnast, Natalia Yurchenko. But during her routine Biles took the Yurchenko to the next level by adding an extra flip that historically, has only been performed by men.
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