Unstoppable Simone Biles wraps up world championships
Samuel Petrequin/The Associated Press | 10/12/2023, 6 p.m.
ANTWERP, Belgium - Simone Biles was not too worried about the medal count, or the color of the medals, at the gymnastics world championships this week.
That approach has sure paid off.
The American superstar claimed a third, then a fourth, gold medal on the final day of the 2023 competition on Sunday, winning the women’s balance beam and floor finals in a dominant fashion.
In Antwerp — where she started her collection of 23 world titles 10 years ago as a 16-year-old — Biles has made a stunning return to the international stage. In addition to the pair of gold medals she won Sunday, she also claimed a silver medal on vault after the sixth all-around title that made her the most decorated gymnast in history, male or female.
Biles led the U.S. women to a record seventh straight victory in the team event.
“It’s like as long as I get out there, do those routines again, like it’s a win in my book,” the four-time Olympic gold medalist said about how she approached the meet. “It doesn’t matter if I end up on the podium or not.”
Biles was competing at her first world championships since 2019 after a two-year break she used to focus on her mental health following the Tokyo Olympics. She only
returned to competition this summer.
Her coach, Cecile Landi, said Biles doesn’t want to speak in detail about the Olympics yet to protect herself and avoid the pressure. “But for us as coaches it’s obviously the goal,” Landi said. “And we will get her ready for that, if she wants it.”
Team USA tops again, by Fred Jeter
Team USA is sitting on top of the world. Again.
And Simone Biles is a major reason why. Again.
The American women won their seventh straight title in World Artistic Gymnastics Oct. 4 in Antwerp, Belgium.
The U.S. total score of 167.729 bested runner-up Brazil (165.530) and third place France (164.064).
Biles, 26, appears to be back with her historically marvelous capabilities after a two-hear hiatus following the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
In Antwerp she became the first to perform a Yurchenko double pike vault.
She went on to win her 21st gold medal in global competition (Worlds plus Olympics and her 34th overall medal.
The American team headed to the Paris Olympics next summer is a young and versatile bunch. Others in Antwerp were:
Leanne Wong – 20, training out of Gainesville, Fla.
Skye Blakely - 18, Frisco, Tex.
Shilese Jones – 21, Auburn, Washington
Joscelyn Roberson – 17, Spring, Tex. Kayla DiCello – 19, Boyds, Md.
There are no guarantees at the Olympics.
We learned that from Tokyo.
But one thing seems sure in Paris. The wondrous Biles, performing skills never seen before, figures to thrill the world. Again.
