Legendary gymnast, Simone Biles, has won her 6th world all-around gold medal. At the recent world championships held in Antwerp, Belgium, the 26-year-old gymnastics superstar emerged victorious in the individual all-around category, earning a score of 58.399. This triumph marks her 27th world championship medal, a testament to her exceptional talent. It is worth noting that this victory comes a decade after her initial world title win in Antwerp at age 16.
This recent triumph has established her as the most accomplished gymnast in the annals of history and the first female gymnast to secure six all-around world titles.
Reacting to this victory, Simon Biles expressed her emotions, reflecting on her initial triumph a decade ago. She conveyed the immense significance of this achievement, symbolizing the culmination of her relentless dedication and perseverance to regain her form and confidence in order to compete at this level.
“Ten years ago I won my first worlds so it was emotional. It means everything to me, the fight, everything that I’ve put in to get back to this place, feel comfortable and confident enough to compete,” Simon Biles said after the competition.
This victory, attained at the prestigious Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, marks a remarkable 27th world medal, breaking the record for total world and Olympic medals combined, surpassing the previous record held by Larisa Latynina, who represented the Soviet Union. Simon Biles now boasts an impressive 34 world and Olympic medals, comprising 27 world championship medals (21 of those are gold) and seven Olympic medals.
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In an interview with NBC Olympics, Simon Biles said, “I’m hanging in there. Obviously it’s a lot coming in day in and day out and competing, but I’m proud of the work that I put in and that’s exactly why we work so hard in the gym, putting those numbers in and working on that endurance. But I am ready to go home and relax.”
Shilese Jones, a teammate of Biles in Team USA, achieved a bronze medal in the women’s all-around category with a score of 56.332. Meanwhile, the current all-around world champion, Rebecca Andrade of Brazil, earned a score of 56.766, securing the silver medal.
In a groundbreaking occurrence within the annals of this sport, the world all-around podium was occupied exclusively by three Black gymnasts for the first time. Also, Simone Biles once again etched her name in the annals of history as she became the oldest American female gymnast to secure a world championship medal at 26.
On Sunday, during the qualification round, Biles achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first woman to execute a new vault successfully, the Yurchenko double pike. This feat has earned her the honor of having the skill named after her in the code of points. The vault has a difficulty score of 6.4, making it the highest of any vault in women’s gymnastics. It will be referred to as the “Biles II” as it is her second original skill on the apparatus.
Sunday’s competition also marked her return to international competition after experiencing difficulties with the “twisties” and withdrawing from multiple events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
This sixth all-around world title victory occurred just two days after the U.S. women’s gymnastics team solidified their place in the annals of sports history by securing a seventh consecutive world championship. The team competition commenced on a challenging note for Team USA as Joscelyn Roberson suffered an injury during warm-ups and was subsequently taken off the podium before the initial rotation.
Simon Biles led Team USA to a historic gold medal at the world championships, where she participated in all four events, anchored the final rotation, and executed the floor routine that garnered the highest score of the day. This performance cemented the team’s triumph by a margin of over two points against the silver medalist team, Brazil.