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Can Simone Biles one-up her own 2016 Olympics performance?

The dominance of Simone Biles cannot be overstated. The 24-year-old gymnast has won the all-around gold medal at every single U.S. National Championship, World Championship, and Olympic Games she’s participated in since 2013, the first year she was eligible for senior level competition. And there is no sign that she has passed her peak. Her biggest competition in Tokyo this summer could very likely be herself. 

Can the GOAT outdo her own Olympic performance from four years ago at Rio? Here’s a breakdown of what she’ll need to accomplish in each event in order to do just that.

Floor

Biles’ most dominant event is arguably the floor exercise. She’s won the gold medal in this event at every World Championships of her career and also has five first place floor finishes at the national championship level. The last time she earned anything LESS than gold in this event was back in 2015. Needless to say, she’ll need gold on floor in Tokyo to match her Rio record.

Vault

If floor is her strongest event, then vault is not far behind. Again, you have to go back to 2015 to find anything other than a top podium finish for Biles on this apparatus. 

Six years of first place finishes later, there is zero let up in her pursuit of making the impossible possible. At the 2021 U.S. Classic in Indianapolis held in May, Biles debuted and landed the Yurchenko double pike, a stunt no female gymnast had ever before performed in competition. Although she’s displeased that the International Federation of Gymnastics isn’t willing to assign the stunt a value that matches many experts’ approximation of its difficulty, she’s determined to keep it in her line up. If she can get it dialed by Tokyo, chances are high she’ll repeat her gold in vault from four years ago.

Balance Beam

Beam is Biles’ third strongest event. In Rio, she earned the bronze medal, so it’s one of the few places she has the potential to improve in. And signs are pointing to her being on the right track. She wrapped up 2019 with a gold on beam at the World Championships and repeated that achievement at both the U.S. Classic and U.S. National Championships in 2021. If she’s going to outdo her 2016 self, a gold or silver on the balance beam would certainly help.

Uneven Bars

By far Biles’ most challenging apparatus is the uneven bars, which was the only individual event that she did not medal in at Rio. Her only gold medal in this event came at the U.S. National Championships in 2018 and there’s no indication of any recent breakthrough. But you can never really count her out, as indicated by her bronze medal finish in this event at last month’s national championships.

Team and Individual All-Around

Even though Olympic trials won’t occur until June 24-27, and there’s a greater than usual uncertainty about who will earn spots on Team USA alongside Biles, the US is already the favorite to take team gold in Tokyo. And Biles is the favorite-by-a-mile for the individual all-around. 

If her yet-to-be-named supporting cast can meet expectations and if the GOAT continues doing GOAT things, Biles has more than a solid chance of breaking the record for most gold medals in women’s gymnastics in a single Olympics, which she currently shares with four other gymnasts. 

College Stars Take Center Stage on 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Mat

Jordan Chiles celebrates her bar routine at UCLA's first NCAA gymnastics meet of 2025.
US Olympian Jordan Chiles is back for her junior NCAA gymnastics season with UCLA. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

No. 2 LSU's Haleigh Bryant does a split leap in the air at a 2024 NCAA gymnastics meet.
2024 NCAA all-around champion Haleigh Bryant is back with LSU. (Reagan Cotten/University Images via Getty Images)

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

NCAA Women’s Basketball Cashes in on March Madness Revenue Plan

Official NCAA basketballs rest on a 2024 March Madness-branded stand.
NCAA women's basketball tournament teams will be earn revenue for the first time in 2025. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball Drops Game Rules Ahead of Friday Tip-Off

A rendering of the Unrivaled 3x3 basketball court in Miami.
Unrivaled tips off its debut season on Friday, January 17th. (Unrivaled)

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

Teams Core Top Players as WNBA Free Agency Looms

Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum shoots a free throw.
WNBA free agent Kelsey Plum has been cored by the Aces. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally lays up a shot during a 2024 WNBA game.
Dallas cored free agent Satou Sabally for a likely upcoming trade. (Ian Maule/NBAE via Getty Images)

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter reacts to a play during a 2024 WNBA game.
Chicago's top scorer Chennedy Carter has yet to receive an offer from the Sky. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.

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