Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles kicked off her campaign for the 2024 Paris Olympics in commanding fashion, taking home the all-around title at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic against one of the most decorated fields the sport has ever seen. 

The list of competitors displayed the depth of the U.S. women’s gymnastics program, with a combined 75 world and Olympic medals among the field. That included the last three Olympic all-around champions for the United States – Gabby Douglas (London 2012), Biles (Rio 2016), and Suni Lee (Tokyo 2020).

For Biles, the Classic was her first outing of the year; an opportunity to perform all four events and fine-tune her routines ahead of the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships (May 30 - June 2) where she will be vying for a ninth national title. 

Biles posted an all-around score of 59.500, nearly two points ahead of world all-around bronze medalist Shilese Jones (57.650), who also made her season debut in Hartford, Connecticut. Tokyo Olympic team silver medalist Jordan Chiles finished third (55.450).

"I just wanted to go out there and hit four events, like I did, and just getting that out of the way," Jones said. "We leave now in seven or eight days for championships, so it's definitely boosting my confidence (for) championships (and) hopefully on to trials." 

After opening the competition with a 14.350 on vault and an event-winning 15.250 on uneven bars, Jones held a lead over Biles halfway through the competition, but that quickly changed once Biles performed her eponymous Yurchenko double pike for a 15.600 in rotation three.

It was the first time Biles performed the vault without her coach Laurent Landi standing next to the apparatus since 2021 – a precautionary measure for Biles’ peace of mind that incurs an automatic half point neutral deduction. 

"She's been doing it without him for a while now," Biles' coach Cecile Landi said after the competition. "She just feels ready. Honestly she was ready last year, I think Laurent was not ready last year. Let's put it that way."

Also back in competition was the Biles II on floor – a triple twisting double back – which Biles hasn’t competed since the qualification round at the Tokyo Olympics. 

Lee, who only competed on three events, showed room for improvement but also showed signs of progress, competing on floor for the first time since Tokyo when she closed out the competition in that event to win the all-around gold medal (13.000). 

Lee did not complete her full difficulty on vault (just a Yurchenko full for a 13.150) but shined on beam, where she debuted a new mount and posted a 14.500 to finish first in the event. 

After making her debut at the American Classic on April 27 and qualifying to the U.S. Championships in three events, Douglas was looking to qualify for all four events in Hartford by posting an all-around score of 51.000 or higher. 

Douglas opened the competition on uneven bars with two falls and ultimately did not perform her intended level of difficulty. USA Gymnastics announced ahead of the second rotation that Douglas scratched from the remainder of the competition. 

U.S. national all-around champion in 2022, Konnor McClain, made her return to the elite stage after taking a break to compete at Louisiana State University, where she recently helped the Tigers win a team NCAA title. 

After posting a 14.200 on beam in the first rotation, McClain injured her Achilles during the warm up for the second rotation. The severity of the injury was inititially not known. 

The Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships will take place May 30 to June 2 in Fort Worth, Texas. Following the competition, the U.S. national team who will advance to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (June 27 - 30) will be named.