Golden opportunities

Gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles will fly high in 2 upcoming Dallas-Fort Worth events

Fingers crossed she'll bring her Yurchenko double pike to DFW.

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World's greatest gymnast Simone Biles — who made history again this weekend as the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault in competition — will bring her jaw-dropping gymnastics to North Texas not once but twice in 2021 — and they could be the last chances local fans get to see her perform.

"All indications are that she'll hang up her leotard after what promises to be a historic run at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021," says OlympicChannel.com.

Biles, the 2016 Olympic All-Around Champion and one of the most decorated gymnast of all time, will stop in Fort Worth just before and after the Tokyo Games (July 23-August 8).

First, she'll compete at the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which will take place June 3-6 at Dickies Arena. The event, rescheduled from June 2020 due to the pandemic, "will decide the 2021 men’s and women’s national all-around and individual event champions and serve as an important stop on the Road to Tokyo, as performances will help determine who will compete at U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics June 24-27 in St. Louis, Mo.," says a release.

At the 2019 U.S. Championships — the last time the event was held — Biles won her sixth U.S. all-around title. She will be going for her seventh in Fort Worth (as will two-time Olympian Sam Mikulak in the men's competition).

Ticket packages ($89-$609) are now on sale and include junior, senior, women's, and men's competitions. Previously purchased tickets will be honored. Find out more about the schedule, tickets, and COVID-19 protocols on the Dickies Arena website. Be warned: they're going fast.

The first woman in history to land a Yurchenko double pike in competition.

Our jaws are on the floor. @Simone_Biles is still in the air. #USClassic pic.twitter.com/CmJYRidtfo

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) May 23, 2021

Biles will then come back to Fort Worth in the fall on a 35-city tour called "Gold Over America." She will headline the event — surely with more Olympic gold medals in hand — and will be joined by gymnasts Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, Peng Peng Lee, Danusia Francis, and Morgan Hurd.

The 110-minute show promises to be "a high-octane, fun-filled experience that will not only showcase athletic brilliance but also showcase each athlete's own inspiring championship journeys and bring the audience closer to the action than ever before."

“I love the sport of gymnastics and want to help create a show that celebrates the pure joy of performing,” Biles says on the show's website. “I believe there is gold inside of us all and it’s time to let that gold shine.”

The tour will come to Dickies Arena on October 9 at 7:30 pm, between Texas stops in San Antonio (October 6), Houston (October 8), and Austin (October 10). Fort Worth is the only DFW date on the tour, as there are no shows planned for Dallas or any points in between.

Gym Clubs have the first opportunity to purchase tickets. They'll go on sale to the general public Friday, June 11, according to the tour's website. Sign up for pre-sale alerts here.

In her spare time outside the gym, Biles — a Houston-area resident — has been championing causes close to her heart, such as advocating for children and young adults involved with the foster care system and adoption. She recently spoke on that topic, in fact, at Junior League of Dallas' virtual Milestones Luncheon.

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Local Makes Good

Lewisville resident Ashley Chan hitting it big on Jeopardy

Photo by Alex Bentley

Lewisville resident Ashley Chan at the start of her fourth victory in Jeopardy.

Dallas-Fort Worth can lay claim to a rising Jeopardy! champion: Ashley Mungiguerra Chan, a resident of Lewisville, is now on a four-day winning streak after besting her competition on Tuesday, December 17.

Chan, who works in public relations, began her run-up to champion status on December 12, taking down the previous three-day champion with ease, finishing with a runaway total of $15,600.

Since then, she has shown to have a broad range of knowledge, as well as the buzzer skills, to keep her on top.

Chan is a graduate of Hofstra University in 2015 and a publicist at Dala Communications in Dallas. In an interview with her alma mater, she shared some of the strategies that have helped her stay on top now for four days in a row.

“I told a lot of people before I went on Jeopardy!, ‘Oh, I feel like I have a leg up on other contestants because I’ve been on TV before and hosted programs,'” she said. “I also did debate in high school. So, being on stage in front of people didn’t make me nervous.”

“Having experience with hands-on news work was really helpful for me because I was able to focus on gameplay and not worry if my mic was messing up, if I was looking in the wrong direction, or if my outfit was OK,” she said.

She applied to be on the show more than once, and was eventually accepted by the show's producers in 2024. Her episodes were filmed in October.

She brushed up by listening to the show's podcasts and said she was grateful they got to rehearse the process of hitting the buzzer, since that was one of the most rattling aspects of the show. Hit it too soon, and you're temporarily frozen out.

"It is so much more difficult than it looks on TV," she said.

Knowing how much to risk during Final Jeopardy was also a key strategy that helped her in her second game on December 13, when a smart wager allowed her to retain her title despite not knowing the answer.

The game on December 17 was her closest yet, with all three contestants having amassed more than $10,000 heading into Final Jeopardy, a rare scenario for the game.

The category was "Fictional Characters." The clue: "Dressed in white in her first scene, this play character says her name means 'white woods.'"

Chan's correct response of "Who is Blanche DuBois?," along with a little lucky wagering, enabled her to win by a mere $300. Her four-day total winnings now stand at $67,400.

Root for her on December 18 on CBS TV at 6 pm, when she'll compete once again. Can she win a fifth time? Whether she does or not, with four wins under her belt, Chan is likely to be invited back for Jeopardy's annual Tournament of Champions, set to air in January 2026.

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