Simone Biles shines in return while Gabby Douglas scratches after a shaky start at the U.S. Classic

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months to go before the Olympic games begin.

The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the U.S. Classic on Saturday, posting an all-around score of 59.500, nearly two points clear of runner-up Shilese Jones.

The 27-year-old Biles, the 2016 Olympic champion, recorded the highest score on vault and floor exercise and came in second on uneven bars and balance beam in her 2024 debut.

“I was just happy to be back out there, get through those nerves again, feel that adrenaline,” Biles said. “I can't really complain how the first meet back was.”

She did a handful of her signature skills, including hitting the Yurchenko double pike on vault and a tumbling pass that ends with a triple-twisting double-flip.

Biles completed the vault — which requires her to clasp her hands to her knees while she flips backward twice — with coach Laurent Landi watching from the side. Landi had been standing on the podium to spot Biles during previous attempts, a decision that cost her a half-point neutral deduction.

While Biles wasn't perfect — she took a couple of big steps back on her vault dismount and got so much air on the triple-double that she landed out of bounds — her mixture of difficulty and precision remains the standard in the sport.

Biles is a virtual lock to make the five-woman U.S. Olympic team should she stay healthy. The big question that needs to be answered over the next six weeks is who will join her in France.

Jones was brilliant on bars and steady everywhere else and should head to the U.S. Championships later this month and the Olympic Trials in late June with confidence.

After that, things get murky.

Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, was hoping to use the U.S. Classic as a springboard. Instead, she will leave with questions about the road ahead.

The 28-year-old, making a comeback after an extended break following the 2016 Olympics, fell twice on uneven bars and pulled out of the four remaining events.

Sunisa Lee, who won the Olympic title at the 2020 games in Tokyo, has been battling kidney issues for the last 18 months that have made training difficult. She competed in three events and her elegant beam routine earned her a 14.600, a touch ahead of the 14.550 put up by Biles.

Jordan Chiles, a 2020 Olympic silver medalist, came in third in the all-around at 55.450. Jade Carey, who captured gold on floor in Tokyo, was fourth.

Konnor McClain, the 2022 U.S. champion, exited the competition with an Achilles injury suffered while warming up on floor exercise.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Jordan Chiles competes in the floor exercise during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Skye Blakely competes on the floor exercise during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Simone Biles watches the scoreboard during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Sunisa Lee competes in the floor exercise during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Jade Carey competes in the floor exercise during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Sunisa Lee competes in the floor exercise during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Konnor McClain competes on the balance beam during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Dulcy Taylor competes on the balance beam during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Jade Carey competes in the floor exercise during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Gabby Douglas steps away from the uneven bars during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Gabby Douglas competes on the uneven bars during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Simone Biles prepares to compete on the balance beam during the U.S. Classic gymnastics event Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

PARIS (AP) — The Nigeria women's basketball team wasn't allowed to board the delegation's boat for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, said a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on Friday condition of anonymity because the Nigeria delegation has not publicly commented.

Once the team made it to the area where it was supposed to board the boat for the ceremony, the group was denied entry by a Nigerian official who told the players and coaches there were too many people on board. The team then made its way to the athletes village after being turned away. The rest of the Nigerian delegation shared a boat with Niger and Norway.

Messages were left seeking comment from a Nigeria press officer.

The team had been sent logistics for the event before the group made the 2-hour, 28-minute, 138-mile (222 km) trip as part of a bus caravan of several teams from Lille, where the preliminary basketball rounds are being played. The buses had a police escort.

The buses going back to Lille were picking up the teams at the end of the opening ceremony route, and it was unclear if Nigeria would be able reach the pickup point in time to avoid staying in Paris for the night.

Nigeria, which is playing in its third Olympics, opens play on Monday against Australia. Nigeria has the only win in Olympic history for an African nation when the team beat Korea in the 2004 Athens Games in the 11th-place contest.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Germany's Alina Hartmann, right, tries to get the ball against, from right, Blessing Ejiofor, Lauren Ebo and Elizabeth Balogun from Nigeria during the Women International Basketball match between Germany and Nigeria at the Uber Arena in Berlin, Friday July 19, 2024. (Andreas Gora/dpa via AP)