INDIANAPOLIS – Maggie Nichols, a 17-year-old from Little Canada, put herself in great position to make the six-person U.S. world team after her second-place finish at the U.S. women's gymnastics championships on Saturday night.
Nichols finished a distant second to good friend Simone Biles, who soared to her third straight title, putting on a staggering display that served notice the gap between the 18-year-old and everyone else is widening with the 2016 Olympics less than 12 months away.
"Today, she was just 'wow,' " Nichols said.
While Biles continued to roll, the development of Nichols gives the Americans another all-around threat. She has spent the last 18 months slowly making inroads on everyone not named Biles and on Saturday bested three stars with far more extensive résumés. Three-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman was third, Bailie Key was fourth and defending Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas was fifth.
The top five figure to be a lock for Scotland this fall.
Biles posted a two-round total of 124.100, nearly five points ahead of Nichols in a sport typically decided by fractions. The two chatted before taking the floor on Saturday, with Biles telling Nichols "it's going to be close."
It wasn't.
Biles joined Kim Zmeskal-Burdette as the only Americans to win three consecutive national all-around titles while the two-time world champion extended her unbeaten streak to nine meets and counting.
Biles slogged through a largely uninspired opening round Thursday, even landing flat on her face at the end of a tumbling run on floor. The crowd gasped at the rare misstep, though Biles recovered to end her night by drilling her Amanar vault. Her personal-best score of 16.250 caused her to go "Wow."
All four rotations were kind of like that in the finals. Biles began the night on balance beam, making the 4-inch-wide piece of wood 4 feet off the ground feel as wide as the backyard patio. Linking together difficult combinations without so much as a wobble, she put together a 15.9 that might as well have sent the message that "the champ is here."
"I just needed to come back and redeem myself," Biles said.
She followed with an impeccable, bouncy floor routine. Her red-and-white leotard glittering under the bright lights, Biles is equal parts acrobat and showman who makes pushing the boundaries of the sport look as easy as an afternoon goofing around in the gym. Her 15.85 was bettered even Raisman — the reigning Olympic champion on the event — and somehow still left a little room for improvement for a gymnast who considers herself a closet perfectionist.
Biles nearly attained it on vault. She has been the best in the world since McKayla Maroney stepped away two years ago. Momentum surging, she quite literally flirted with perfection with an Amanar that would have left Maroney impressed. She packed 2 ½ twists into a split second then jammed her feet into the mat so hard it appeared as if they were suction-cupped to the ground. Her score of 16.300 included a 9.9 for execution, as close as anyone has come to a 10.0 since the scoring system was revamped following the 2004 Olympics.
"That's pretty ridiculous," Biles said.
