Joscelyn Roberson stepped onto the NOW Arena floor in Hoffman Estates on July 19, 2025, her first elite meet in 2025 after a great collegiate season. Under the bright lights, she delivered powerful, clean routines: a poised balance beam with a stuck double‑pike earned 13.350, her vault, a double‑twisting Yurchenko, landed solidly at 13.700, and her floor routine shone with back‑to‑back double‑layouts. She finished strong on bars with a full‑twisting double‑layout dismount, capping her all‑around bronze at 53.250. And what happened next? Well…
Let us rewind a bit. Before she stepped on the mat, the gymnast was nervous yet gritty and determined. There were ample of people supporting her. It did make her sweat a little, but every time her toes left the mat, the crowd responded with clear cheers and unwavering support, reminding her she wasn’t just competing, she was welcomed back with open arms. This was the moment when she started to move out of Simone Biles’s shadow. Later, she confessed what she thought of the crowd…
After performing in the US Classic on July 19th, 2025, Roberson stood among journalists answering questions. One question was, how did it feel to have the crowd behind her and step into a veteran role on the team?. She said, “It felt amazing just because I didn’t know, like, I had no idea what to expect coming in and having all these little kids just cheer for me. It’s like, I feel like they’re acting like I’m Simone, and that is so cool.” Biles’ fan following spans across both adults and kids, and it’s so big that it can shadow other athletes, but now with her on a break from gymnastics, Joscelyn Roberson had her moment to shine among fans. But this has had its negative effects on her as well.
She said, “And I just have to like keep myself, myself, like to stay calm because a lot of the times before these meetings, I would get nervous and I’d be like, oh, they’re not watching me. Like they’re watching Simone, just chill out. But now, like knowing that they were watching me, that made me extremely nervous.” The gymnast was even nervous before making it to the 2025 US Classic. She said in a statement before the classic, “In college, it’s like a different type of nervousness, because it’s so team-oriented. You can kind of disperse your nerves on everybody else, and then they can feed you the energy that you need. But here it’s like, all you, because it’s like, this is for me. It’s not for a team. This is because I want to do it.” She confessed that she had to remind herself, like, this is what she worked her whole life for.
Joscelyn Roberson talks with media following the U.S. Classic. She talks about upgrades for championships, having Simone Biles present for support, and much more!
Inside Gymnastics
#gymnastics #ncaagymnastics #gymnast #olympics #olympicgames #usagymnastics #teamusa pic.twitter.com/beNsJAg2lt
— Inside Gymnastics (@InsideGym) July 20, 2025
“So it was so cool. And I just, I love them so much,” she said. Another person she loved was there in the arena, supporting her. Simone Biles. She did not compete at the 2025 U.S. Classic. Instead, the seven-time Olympic champion made a cameo in the stands, cheering on her World Champions Centre teammates—Joscelyn Roberson and Dulcy Caylor. Roberson has the behind-the-scenes of it.
Simone Biles came in one call
“I know Simone was over in the corner. I think you guys maybe said hi before the meet,” Joscelyn Roberson said to the press guys as she stood surrounded by them after her US classic performance. She was asked about how she felt about having her here, and what they said to each other. The gymnast told, “Yeah, so I just saw her come in and I was like, oh my gosh, I have to go say hi. So I said hi and she asked me how I was feeling. And she’s like, if you don’t feel ready to do anything, don’t do it. I mean, she was like, you don’t have to do this to me. You don’t have to qualify.” Biles further advised her to be safe, and she argued that she wants to do as much as she can.
“So yeah, she said I love you and I went out and did introductions,” she said. As a member of the 2024 Olympic team and replacement athletes, Roberson was automatically qualified for the 2025 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Perhaps that’s why Simone did not want her to stress herself here. Though she scored 53.250 on all-around and met the qualification standards (52.000). One journalist then asked her how much it meant to have her make that effort to be here and come to support her.
Answering the question, Joscelyn answered, “It means the world. I mean, she’s the busiest human ever. She was at the ESPYs two days ago, and she called me and she was like, okay, I have this, this, and this, but if you really want me there, I’ll be there. And I was like, I kind of really want to be there. And she’s like, okay, so it’s done.” Biles swept two top honors at the ESPYs ceremony in Los Angeles, taking home Best Female Athlete and Best Championship Performance, beating Steph Curry, for her dominant all-around victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Taking time out of her busy schedule, the GOAT turned heads at the US Classic. The Razorback also told, “she has to leave like tomorrow. And she’s just the best person, the biggest role model and support person that I can call.“
The post Joscelyn Roberson Moved by Crowd’s Love as She Steps Out of Simone Biles’ Shadow at US Classic appeared first on EssentiallySports.