Two years after she was forced to withdraw from the Olympic team final and spent the remainder of the night on the sidelines, this time Simone Biles competed right until the end.

Charged with closing out another gold medal after a challenging evening of injuries and uncertainty, Biles showed steely nerves. She marched through a spectacular routine, drawing a standing ovation from the Antwerp crowd as the United States clinched a sixth consecutive team gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships with a score of 167.729.

The night, though, was also defined by a pair of historic performances behind the US. Brazil’s injury ravaged generational talents, Rebeca Andrade and Flávia Saraiva, finally took their nation to the podium for the first time as they clinched a historic team silver medal, scoring 165.530.

Likewise, Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos, who recently moved from Paris to Biles’s family gym in Texas with hopes of finally fulfilling her enormous potential, led France to their first ever world bronze medal by scoring 164.064 for bronze. As new nations stepped up, Great Britain were left behind during a tough night in Antwerp as they finished in sixth place.

Despite their victory, the US suffered brutal luck early on. During their warm-up on the first apparatus, Joscelyn Roberson landed awkwardly while attempting her supremely difficult Cheng vault, hurting her left foot and forcing her out of the competition. Despite some errors, the depth in the US team and another dominant performance from Biles drove them to victory.

“This team that we have throughout this year had the most grit, courage and fight, especially after everything that transpired out on the floor,” said Biles.

“You had Jos go down, you had somebody step up to the plate. We had so many different emotions going throughout the day and it wasn’t USA’s best day. It’s crazy, we still pulled it out, so I’m really, really proud of the team.”

Shortly afterwards, Jessica Gadirova fell on her own Cheng. More falls followed for Great Britain on the uneven bars and balance beam as the prospect of a third consecutive medal became increasingly remote.

Instead, Brazil, France, China and Italy battled for the medals until the end, with Brazil finishing as the best of the rest as Andrade clinched silver with an incredible final floor routine and Cheng vault.

Ten years to the day since her first world medal in the same arena, the night ended as so many of these occasions have during Biles’ reign over the past decade. The last gymnast to compete in the final rotation, all eyes on her, Biles demolished her closing floor routine, earning the highest score of the competition (15.166). As she departed the podium, the Antwerp crowd loudly saluted the return of a legend.

After her first of six finals, Biles’ now holds 33 medals at the Olympic games and world championships, equalling Vitaly Scherbo as the all-time record holder. No woman has won more world team medals than Biles, now a five-time world team champion.

American Simone Biles has become the most successful gymnast in history, amassing 33 world and Olympic medals, including the recent team gold at the Antwerp 2023 World Championships.

Guiding the American team to victory with 167.729 points, Biles showcased exceptional performances on the vault and floor exercises, competing across all apparatus.

Shilese Jones did her part with strong performances on the vault and uneven bars. Leanne Wong excelled in the vault, and Skye Blakely delivered an impressive performance on the uneven bars.

Biles has the chance to add more medals on Friday, October 6, in the individual All-Around final, where she qualified first with a total score of 58.865.

Simone Biles’ medal count

Simone Biles’ career began to take off at the Antwerp 2013 World Championships, when she won four medals: gold in team and floor, silver in vault, and bronze in the balance beam.

In Nanning 2014, she won four gold medals and one silver. In Glasgow 2015, she was first in four competitions and third in one, the same count as Doha 2018. In Stuttgart 2019, she swept the five gold medals.

Her Olympic achievements include four gold medals and one bronze at Rio de Janeiro 2016, along with one silver and one bronze at Tokyo 2020, tying her with compatriot Shannon Miller at seven Olympic medals

The Antwerp 2023 finals

As the 52nd World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Antwerp 2023 concludes on Sunday, October 8, Biles has qualified for all finals, ranking first in the horse vault, balance beam, and floor exercises and fifth in the uneven bars final.

Simone Biles will return to the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships on Wednesday as she looks to continue her brilliant form at the competition.

The 26-year-old is set to participate in the women’s team final as the US looks to win its seventh consecutive world title in the discipline.

It’s already been an impressive competition for Biles, who made history on the opening day of championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

On Sunday, she finished first in the women’s all-around qualification and became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault – a high-difficulty skill historically only done by men – at an international competition.

It is Biles’ first competition back on the world stage since the Tokyo 2020 Games when she pulled out of several events suffering from what is known as the “twisties” – a mental block causing a gymnast to lose track of their positions in midair.

Since then, she has once again displayed all the qualities that have carried her to the pinnacle of the sport, coming back to win a record eighth national all-around title.

And by competing in Antwerp, Biles became the first woman to represent the US at six artistic world championships.

The seven-time Olympic medalist will be joined by US teammates Skye Blakey, Shilese Jones, Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong for the team final on Wednesday.

How to watch

The world championships began on September 30 and will run until October 8.

On Wednesday, Biles will be part of the USA’s five-woman team competing in the final of the team event.

Biles will also take part in the women’s individual all-around final on Friday, before the women’s vault and uneven bars finals on October 7 and the balance beam and floor exercise finals the following day.

NBC will broadcast coverage in the US, while the BBC will show the finals in the UK.

All three days of qualifying were broadcast on the International Gymnastics Federation’s streaming hub, All Gymnastics TV. The finals will also be available in some countries on the platform.

Full-circle moment

In 2013, Biles made her world championships debut in Antwerp, winning the all-round and floor exercise gold, as well as vault silver and beam bronze.

In the 10 years since that moment, she has accumulated 25 world championship medals – 19 gold, three silver and three bronze – in total.

She last competed at the world championships in 2019, winning five gold medals – a feat she could replicate in Belgium.

Biles is already the most decorated gymnast in US history, winning 32 medals across the Olympics and the world championships.

Ever since the sporting limelight discovered Simone Biles, her life has been devoted exclusively to gymnastics. The 2013-turned-elite kept her life limited to a small circle of people. However, things changed when her relationship with the WWE superstar made headlines during her professional gap year in 2017. Their relationship lasted for three years until they finally broke it off leaving behind a sour taste. However, over time the athletes had grown familiar and shared close bonds with each other’s friends.

Simone Biles’ ex-boyfriend drops a wishful comment

Since a young age, the Olympic gold champion has experienced many emotional hardships in her life. Having found solace in her husband shows in her strength as often credited by her in post-victory interviews. In her lows, Biles often leans on her girls’ tribe consisting of her bestie Rachel Moore. Just days ahead of her joining the newlywed gang with Simone, a pre-wedding photo was posted on her Instagram, however, a comment from Stacey Ervin Jr. grabbed eyeballs

The presence of Simone Biles was electrifying as she graced the arena in Antwerp. Thousands of fans roared in awe, welcoming their gymnastics queen back to the world stage after nearly two years. Opening the night with great poise, hoping to move past her previous challenges, the Olympian legend, scored a solid 14.400 on uneven bars. Next on the balance beam, she earned a commendable score of 14.566. On-the-floor exercise, her score of 14.633 towered over her competitors, showcasing her dominance.

Family of Simone Biles missing their star

In a recent Instagram story, Adria Biles, Simone’s sister, attempted to video call her from America. The screenshot showed a picture of Adria’s screen, affectionately calling her “Sistaboo” Simone. But the screen only revealed Adria’s bemused expression as Biles remained unavailable.

ANTWERP, Belgium — Simone Biles advanced to every individual final at the world gymnastics championships, and she earned the top qualifying score in the all-around, as well as on three of the four apparatuses

Simone Biles, one of the most celebrated gymnasts in the world, made an outstanding comeback to the sport in 2023 after an absence of almost two years. She participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she won a place on the USA team for the World Championship. In doing so, she became the first American to participate in six world championships.

At the World Championships held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Simone Biles proved her mettle yet again by showcasing her exceptional skills and abilities on the mat. In the qualifiers for the vault competition, she achieved a remarkable feat by performing the “Yurchenko Double Pike,” a challenging skill that no other female gymnast had ever accomplished. This move involves performing a roundoff onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vault table, and then executing two complete backward flips with her legs kept straight until her feet hit the mat.

Simone’s achievement was so remarkable that the move will now be named after her, following the tradition of naming new skills after the athlete who achieves them. This is already the second vault skill named after Simone Biles, with the first being the “Biles” move she performed during the 2018 World Championships. Her latest achievement will be known as “Biles II,” it has already been recognized as one of the most difficult vaults ever performed in women’s gymnastics.

Biles has had five different skills named after her – two on the vault, two on the floor, and one on the beam. The most challenging jump is the “Yurchenko double pike,” which has never been awarded before and is scored with 6.4 points.

Biles scored 15,266 points on the vault and a total of 58,865 in the all-around competition.

Simone Biles announced her return to the world stage in some style on Sunday as she sits in first place in the women’s all-around qualification at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault at an international competition.

Biles stepped up to the vault, launched high into the air, twisting in angular blue blur, and landed with just a single backwards step to make history.

That feat ensured the skill will now be named the Biles II in honor of the 19-time world champion, making it her fifth named element.

A high-difficulty skill historically only done by men, the element is a roundoff onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting table, ending with a piked double backflip into the air to landing.

She posted an all-around score of 58.865 to sit in first place at the end of her qualifying session, and in a commanding position to reach all four individual finals and the all-around final later in the week.

After her qualifying round, the 26-year-old sits in first place on three pieces of apparatus – floor, vault and balance beam – and second on the uneven bars, behind teammate Shilese Jones.

The US as a team posted an impressive qualifying score of 171.395, and though most other teams are yet to complete their own qualifying round, it seems virtually assured that the Americans will reach the team final given that their total bested the 167.263 that saw them qualify in first place last year.

It is Biles’ first competition back on the world stage since the Tokyo 2020 Games when she pulled out of several events suffering from what is known as the “twisties” – a mental block causing a gymnast to lose track of their positions in midair.

Since then, she has once again displayed all the qualities that have carried her to the pinnacle of the sport, coming back to win a record eighth national all-around title.

And by competing in Antwerp, Biles became the first woman to represent the US at six artistic world championships.

Meanwhile, the US men’s gymnastics team secured its spot in the team competition at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris by qualifying for the team final in second place behind Japan.

Simone Biles showcased her exceptional vault effortlessly at the 2023 World Gymnastics Championship’s opening day. She made history as the first woman to successfully perform the Yurchenko double pike vault in an international competition. Biles earned a score of 15.266 achieving is a testament to her unparalleled skills and dedication. In the world of gymnastics, the Yurchenko Double Pike is said to be the most challenging vault.

Simon Biles aced the YDP in the Gymnastics world

The Yurchenko Double Pike is notorious for its complexity and danger. To perform it, gymnasts must generate immense power off the vaulting table. They need to launch into the air and execute two pike rotations with precision. The risk lies in the potential for severe injuries, especially if the landing goes awry. Natalia Yurchenko was the first gymnast to perform this vault at the 1982 Moscow News competition. She won the last year’s International Gymnastics Federation at the World Cup. Because of the 1984 Olympic Games boycott, Yurchenko never had the opportunity to compete with her invention at the Olympics.

Simone Biles enjoyed a virtual sweep in qualifying at the Gymnastics World Championships on Monday, further burying the nightmare she experienced at the Tokyo Olympics.

The United States superstar took top spot in the all-around, vault, beam and floor and appears certain to comfortably add to her 25 world championship medals made up of 19 gold, three silver and three bronze.

The only athlete to get the better of her on Monday was 16-year-old Qiu Qiyuan of China on the uneven bars.

In total, Biles has 58.865 points for a two-point lead over compatriot Shilese Jones (56.932) and Jessica Gadirova of Britain (56.766). Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, the revelation of the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, took fourth place with 56.599 points.

Biles’ only disappointment came on the uneven bars where she was fifth after being penalised for a fall.

“I don’t know, it happens in gymnastics,” she said. “You have to think quickly so as not to forget the sequences.

“I recovered well and that’s the most important thing.”

On Sunday, 26-year-old Biles made history by becoming the first female gymnast to execute a “Yurchenko double pike vault” – now renamed “Biles II” – during women’s team qualifying.

A four-gold Olympic champion, the American made headlines at the Tokyo Games when she withdrew from multiple events due to the “twisties”, a loss of spatial awareness in mid-air, which is an experience that can be terrifying for even the most experienced gymnasts.

She took a lengthy two-year break and returned to action only at the beginning of August, but demonstrated that she had lost none of her incredible level.

She won the US Classic, where she obtained the best scores on vault, floor and beam, followed by a record eighth US all-around title at the national championships.

However, Biles has not competed at the worlds since the 2019 edition in Stuttgart, where she earned five golds and had new skills named after her when she successfully landed her signature moves.

The 2024 Paris Olympics are her ultimate target but she also said that she will approach her third Games a bit differently, focusing on being fully fit both physically and mentally.

“I think I’ve always had the competitive drive, so I don’t think that taking the time off taught me a lot about the competitive side of me,” she said in August.

“I think it was more about the personal side and getting to truly take care of myself mentally and physically and make sure everything is in tune, so that whenever I am competing everything goes well.”

Before Paris, though, her focus is on the world championships and on Wednesday she will go for a first gold in Antwerp in the women’s team event. AFP, REUTERS