"Muscles in my face actually ached" - When Simone Biles opened up on making the US gymnastics team for the 1st time

Simone Biles once opened up about the moment when she first made the national team. After a near miss in achieving the qualification in 2011, Biles earned a spot in the national team the following year at the 2012 Visa National Championships in St. Louis.

She achieved the spot after settling in third place behind Lexie Priessman and Madison Desch. While Priessman and Desch collected 116.400 and 115.850 points, respectively, Biles earned 115.600 points. She also dominated the vault event with 31.800 points and placed sixth in floor, bars, and beam events. In her autobiography, Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, Biles once reflected on the significant moment, stating it as unbelievable:

"That evening at Nationals, standing on the podium next to all-around gold medalist Lexie Priessman and silver medalist Madison Desch, I could hardly believe that my dream was coming true. Later, after the arena’s Jumbotron screen lit up with the names of the 2012 women’s junior national team, I was smiling so hard that the muscles in my face actually ached."

She further highlighted that the famed coach Martha Karolyi had only selected six gymnasts for the junior national team that year and she was the only new gymnast with the rest of them having previously competed for the country:

"All the other girls had been on the national team the previous year; I was the only newbie in the mix."

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Simone Biles once reflected on the moment she first competed at a meet under Martha Karolyi's guidance

Simone Biles of the United States during the Olympic Games in Paris. (Photo via Getty Images)

Simone Biles competed in her first meet after making the national at the 2013 American Cup. She was selected by Martha Karolyi after Kyla Ross and Elizabeth Price had to withdraw due to injury. In her autobiography, Biles reflected on the moment, stating her joy was uncontainable:

"On the last day of camp, Martha put to rest all the speculation about who would get the upcoming assignment. 'The two girls who will be competing at the American Cup this year are'—she paused and looked down the whole line of girls before saying the names—'Katelyn Ohashi and Simone Biles.'"

"Katelyn and I were like, 'Yesssss!' We turned to each other and high-fived with both hands; we couldn’t have been more excited to be going on assignment together," Biles added.

At the American Cup, Biles followed Ohashi in second place in the all-around event.