Simone Biles clinched her 20th World Artistic Gymnastics Championship gold medal, marking a historic triumph for the 26-year-old athlete. Biles, who took a two-year hiatus from gymnastics to focus on her mental health, played a pivotal role in securing the United States’ historic victory in the women’s team final on Wednesday.
Biles’ flawless routine left no doubt that the U.S. dominated the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Antwerp, Belgium, securing a consecutive seventh world title for the women’s team.
Brazil secured the second position in the gymnastics event, while France finished third.
In the team final, Biles was joined by her teammates, including Sky Blakely, Shilese Jones, Jordan Chiles, and Leanne Wong. However, Josselyn Roberson, who trains with Biles in Texas, faced a heartbreaking warm-up injury when she injured her knee.
Wong stepped up, excelling in both the vault and floor exercises, filling the void left by Roberson, an unexpected turn of events considering Wong had not initially been expected to compete in this capacity.
In her first three apparatuses, Biles recorded scores of 14.800 on vault, 14.466 on bars, and 14.300 on beam.
The 26-year-old gymnast, competing in the floor exercise, was the final member of the American team competing in the event and knew that a strong performance would secure another gold medal for herself and her teammates.
With a smile on her face throughout her routine, Biles exuded confidence as she showcased her twists and turns, even defying gravity with a seemingly erroneous landing, which the judges rewarded with a score of 15.166.
The U.S. team claimed victory with a 2.199-point lead, securing a joint success with an overall score of 167.729 points.
In a congratulatory message on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the USA Gymnastics team wrote that the American women’s team was “in a league of their own.”
With this win, Biles has now earned a total of 26 World Championship medals, including 20 gold, three silver, and three bronze medals. She has equaled Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record for the most medals (33) in the Olympics and World Championships combined.
This victory holds particular significance for Biles, as it was in 2013 that she first began her World Championship journey, winning gold in the all-around and floor exercise along with silver in vault and beam.
Simone Biles made history in artistic gymnastics, setting a new standard for excellence on the very first day of qualification in Antwerp.
Over the past decade, Biles has emerged as one of the greatest gymnasts and athletes in American history.
This time in Antwerp, Biles became the first woman to represent the United States in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, competing against the world’s best.
Even before winning the gold medal on Wednesday, it was already an inspiring comeback for Biles, who made history on the opening day of the championship.
On Sunday, she secured the top position in the women’s all-around qualification and became the first woman to land a Yurchenko double pike vault in international competition, an incredibly challenging skill historically performed only by men.
This event marks Biles’ first competition at the global level since the Tokyo 2020 Games, where she withdrew from several events due to a mental block known as the “twisties,” which can cause gymnasts to lose awareness of their positions mid-air.
Since then, she has once again showcased all the qualities that brought her to the pinnacle of the sport, reclaiming her national all-around title.
On Friday, Biles will compete in the women’s individual all-around final, followed by the uneven bars and balance beam finals on October 7th, and the floor exercise and vault finals the following day.