This week the Women’s U.S. National Gymnastics Team made history by consecutively winning seven world championship titles, snatching up gold at the 2023 FIG World Championships.
U.S. record-holding Simone Biles led the team to a gold medal in the world championships in Antwerp, Belgium this week after earning the highest U.S. scores in the balance beam, floor routine, and vault. The team: Biles, Skye, Shi Jones, Joscelyn Roberson, and Leanne Wong raked in a whopping total score of 167.729 on Wednesday, two points over second place, Team Brazil.
After a dramatic moment where Roberson fell and suffered an ankle injury during her vault routine, alternate Wong stepped in to ensure that the score stayed as high as possible, competing in her place for vault and floor routine.
On Sunday Biles made history for being the first woman ever to land the dangerous Yurchenko double pike vault. The Yurchenko, which is typically performed by male gymnasts, consists of a back handspring onto the table, followed by two double flips.
On Wednesday, Biles was a major factor in last-minute boosting points for her team needing to earn a minimum of 13 points in the floor routine. She not only met that goal but smashed it by receiving over 15 points, pushing the team to first place.
This weekend, Biles will continue to represent Team USA in the women’s all-around individual finals where she could snatch her 21st career gold medal. She is also tied with Belarusian gymnast Vitaly Scherbo for the record 33 career medals. All she has to do is finish the competition in the top three in order to take over Scherbo.
The record holder took a break from the sport after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games where she suffered from “twisties”, a dangerous issue where the gymnast isn’t able to detect their location while mid-air.