"My entire plan now was to be one of the chosen" - When Simone Biles opened up about her goal of making junior national team 

American gymnast Simone Biles once opened up her career's ground-breaking goal as a junior gymnast. Biles competed at the Gliders National Elite Qualifier in 2011, where she secured first place in the vault and the all-around event, making a remarkable debut as a junior elite gymnast.

The gymnast stated that although a part of her felt the victory was fluke, another part began to believe that making it to the Nationals and earning a spot in the national junior team was possible. Her win at Gliders qualified her to compete in the American Classic, and doing well there would give her a chance to move on to the Visa National Championships.

In her autobiography Courage to Soar, Biles highlighted the importance of the results at national championships, where the most famed coach Martha Karolyi would select the senior and junior national teams. Knowing this, Biles' goal became clear as she aimed to get selected.

"With the win at Gliders, that goal seemed within reach, because my score had qualified me to compete in the American Classic at the Karolyi Ranch on July 1," Biles wrote. "Anyone who did well enough at that meet would automatically go on to compete at the Visa National Championships in August. That was the golden ticket, because Martha Karolyi would select the next artistic gymnastics women’s senior and junior national teams based on the results at Nationals. My entire plan now was to be one of the chosen."

However, Biles faced a major setback at the national championships.

"My heart was breaking" - When Simone Biles reflected on the setback faced at the National Championships that missed her chance to earn a spot on the team

Simone Biles looks on prior to the 2024 Core Hydration Classic in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Getty Images)

Simone Biles fell short of earning a spot in the national squad at the 2011 Visa National Championships. Biles competed on all four apparatus, collecting 108.100 points. However, her dream of qualification was crushed after only first 13 finishers were selected. In her autobiography Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, she spoke on the obstacle.

"Tears were bubbling up inside me, but I refused to let the other girls or the coaches see me cry. I kept telling myself I’d done my best, trying to drown out the little voice in my head that whispered, 'But did you really? Couldn’t you have worked a little harder? Why didn’t you do more?' The truth is that my heart was breaking. I had come to Nationals with a goal of making the 2011 team, and it didn’t happen. I simply hadn’t been good enough."

Nonetheless, Simone Biles achieved a milestone after securing the most number of national championships in gymnastics in the following years - 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 202, 2023, and 2024.