- Google wins delay in opening Android app store to rivals
- Martin takes dominant pole for Australian MotoGP
- Royal rest for cancer patient king on first day of Australia tour
- Man arrested after throwing suspected petrol bombs at Japan ruling party HQ: media
- Verstappen ends long wait for pole at US Grand Prix sprint qualifying
- 'Heartbreaking': Dad, fans grieve Liam Payne's death
- Ligue 1 leaders Monaco held by Lille in stalemate
- Record high Colombian cocaine production in 2023: UN
- McLaren boss blasts rival's comments on Norris as "tasteless"
- El Salvador activists acquitted after contentious trial
- FIA inspect Red Bull car's to check controversial set-up device
- Power plant failure triggers blackout across cash-strapped Cuba
- US budget deficit widens to $1.8 tn, third highest on record
- Google wins delay opening Android app store to rivals
- Global markets mixed as investors weigh earnings and China GDP
- Harris targets Trump's age after report of exhaustion
- Guirassy saves Dortmund's blushes against St Pauli
- 'Completely crazy' as Lavreysen wins record 15th world cycling title
- Animal rights activists sentenced for Buckingham Palace fountain protest
- Cuba experiences nationwide blackout after power plant failure
- Sainz puts Verstappen, Norris in shade at US Grand Prix practice
- New Zealand edge West Indies to reach Women's T20 World Cup final
- UK's Lammy warns China over support for Russia in Ukraine
- Global coral bleaching event biggest on record: US agency
- UK activist jailed for dyeing fountain outside Buckingham Palace red
- Relief, anxiety in Israel after Sinwar's killing
- Wawrinka, 39, ousts top seed Rublev to reach Stockholm semis
- Harris, Trump descend on Michigan amid blockbuster early voting
- West Indies' Dottin restricts New Zealand to 128-9 in World Cup semi
- Sinwar's killing boosts Netanyahu but still no sign of war ending
- High court throws Kenya deputy president replacement into disarray
- Father of One Direction star Payne arrives in Argentina
- Guardiola says 'part of me will leave' when Begiristain quits Man City
- 'Timebomb' ship highlights hazard of dangerous cargoes
- France charges SUV driver with murder for running over cyclist
- Ex-Fulham Ladies captain Ronnie Gibbons 'groped' by Al-Fayed
- Italy judges reject first migrant detentions in Albania
- What next for Hamas after Sinwar's killing?
- Postecoglou urges inconsistent Spurs to change perceptions
- UN force says 'widespread destruction' in south Lebanon
- New Zealand on America's Cup cusp after double triumph
- New Zealand's Ravindra makes father proud with 'special' Test ton
- Stock markets mixed as investors weigh earnings, China GDP
- Ten Hag slams 'fairy tales and lies' as Man Utd boss comes out fighting
- Hamas mourns Sinwar, vows no hostage release until war ends
- Forest boss Nuno hit with three-game ban
- 'The killings continue': Sinwar death brings no respite for Gazans
- Gaza 'hell on Earth' for one million children: UN
- Maresca 'very happy' with start of Chelsea career
- New Zealand extends America's Cup lead on Britain
Biles books Paris Olympics spot with emphatic US trials all-around win
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles is headed to the Paris Games after a resounding all-around victory at the US gymnastics trials on Sunday.
Biles capped her trials with another electrifying floor routine, her high-flying tumbling bringing the crowd to its feet.
She piled up 117.225 over two days of competition to earn an automatic berth on the five-strong team for Paris later this month.
Three years after a bout of the disorienting "twisties" cut short Biles's Tokyo Games campaign, the gymnast considered the best of all time will return to the Olympic stage looking stronger than ever.
The 27-year-old told an exultant crowd in Minneapolis that in the immediate aftermath of Tokyo she had "never pictured going to another Olympic Games."
"I never thought I would go back in the gym again, be twisting, feel free," said Biles, who returned to competition in August last year after a two-year break.
She'll be joined in Paris by three other members of the Tokyo Olympics team: all-around gold medallist Suni Lee, floor gold medallist Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, who helped the US to team silver.
The quartet -- who will be joined by 16-year-old Hezly Rivera -- have branded the Paris Olympics their redemption tour.
"I feel like we all have more to give and our Tokyo performances weren't the best," said Biles, who withdrew from the team final at the pandemic-delayed Games.
"I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we're better athletes.
"We're more mature, we're smarter, we're more consistent -- but don't quote me on that, because not tonight!" she laughed after the closing night of trials saw Biles, Lee and Chiles all fall off the balance beam.
The always-tense trials were turned into an even more nervy affair as three top contenders were forced out of the competition by injury.
Skye Blakely ruptured an Achilles tendon in training on Wednesday and Shilese Jones hurt her left knee in a warm-up vault on Friday, minutes before Tokyo Olympic alternate Kayla DiCello suffered what proved to be an Achilles injury on the opening vault of the trials.
The injuries unsettled everyone, but with less than a month before gymnastics competition begins in Paris, Biles was confident the team will be at its best.
"If we can just do what we do in training, then I think we're going to hit it out of the ballpark," said Biles, who has captured world championships all-around gold and her eighth and ninth national titles since returning to competition last summer.
Biles launched her night with a soaring version of her Yurchenko double pike vault, and even though she skittered backwards a few steps on landing, she scored 15.50 points for a vault so difficult that no other woman has attempted it in competition.
After a sub-par balance beam performance on day one left her clearly furious, Biles was rolling through an impressive routine when she lost her balance and fell off -- still scoring an impressive 13.900.
- Never give up -
Lee, whose return to the Olympics comes as she manages not one but two kidney diseases that threatened to end her career, finished second overall with 111.675 points.
It was a triumphant and emotional night for Lee in front of ecstatic fans in her home state of Minnesota.
"I'm so, so glad that I never gave up," she said.
"There were so many times where I thought about just quitting and just kind of walking away from the sport because I didn’t think that I would ever get to this point."
Chiles finished third, Carey fourth and Rivera fifth in the all-around -- although it was a nervous wait for the quartet behind Biles, who were named to the team after about half an hour of deliberation by the selection committee.
Rivera was buoyed by a strong showing on the balance beam and capped her night with a solid vault to edge out 18-year-old Joscelyn Roberson for the final berth.
All eyes in Paris, however, will be on Biles, who heads to France an overwhelming favorite to add to the four golds she won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
"I love these girls and I'm going to take care of them in Paris," Biles said.
A.Jones--AMWN