Simone Biles is only two months into her return to competition, and already, she has rewritten history after being recognized as the most decorated gymnast in the sport’s history.
via: AP
Biles overcame a late blip in her floor routine after an otherwise dominant performance to win the individual all-around title at the world championships for the sixth time on Friday. That made her the most decorated gymnast in history, two years after she put her career on hold to focus on her mental health following the Tokyo Olympics.
Even for someone who has now stood atop that world championship podium 21 times, that was enough to draw some tears during the medal ceremony in Antwerp — the Belgian city where Biles started her collection of titles a decade ago as a 16-year-old.
“You guys are actually never going to believe me, but I’ve had something in my eye for like four hours today that I could not get out,” Biles said. “So whenever I was staring at the podium, if I look up, it really hits my eye.”
Biles then acknowledged she was moved.
“Because 10 years ago, I won my first worlds. Now we’re back here. So it was emotional,” she said. “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.”
Biles scored 58.399 points across the balance beam, floor, vault and uneven bars to beat Rebeca Andrade, the Brazilian defending champion, by 1.633 points. Biles’ U.S. teammate Shilese Jones took the bronze medal with 56.332 points.
It was Biles’ 27th world championship medal — and 21st gold. It came two days after the four-time Olympic gold medalist led the U.S women to a record seventh straight win in the team event.
The floor routine that gave Simone Biles a record-tying sixth world all-around title. ?
She now holds the record for the most combined world and Olympic medals (34). pic.twitter.com/t7XqQUo2Us
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) October 6, 2023
The first all-Black world all-around podium!
? Simone Biles
? Rebeca Andrade
? Shilese Jones #ARTWorlds2023 pic.twitter.com/LjUVjPBjRZ— Gymnastics Now (@Gymnastics_Now) October 6, 2023
