Simone Biles Secures Gold for Team USA at 2023 World Championships, Making History Again

Simone Biles has another victory behind her.

Biles, 26, and the U.S. team — Shilese Jones, Leanne Wong, Skye Blakely and Joscelyn Roberson — finished first Wednesday in the finals of the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

Biles’ floor routine in the final rotation helped the team seal the victory by more than two points over Brazil, with a total score of 167.729.

Roberson did not compete in the team finals due to an injury she sustained in the vault warm-up, The Washington Post reported. The 17-year-old from Texas was seen on crutches during the team finals as Wong competed in her place through several rotations.

Brazil took home their first ever team medal at the world championships, with France finishing third and winning the bronze medal.

Simone Biles eyes Paris 2024 Olympics amid return to gymnastics: ‘That’s the path I’d like to take’

Team USA’s Simone Biles competes in the floor exercise during the women’s qualification on day two of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

Matthias Hangst/Getty

Entering Wednesday’s final, the U.S. women were atop the standings in nearly every event. The team that was already the favorite to win, with their performance on vault, beam, floor, all-around and team competitions secured their place as probable gold medal winners.

The victory is historic both for the team and for Biles herself.

It’s the U.S. women’s seventh consecutive championship victory, breaking a tie with the Chinese men’s national team, which won six in a row from 2003-2014, according to USA Today.For Biles, the team win brings her even closer to becoming the most decorated gymnast of all time. With another gold medal, he currently has 33 medals between the Olympics and the World Championships. At the age of 34, she would become the gymnast with the most medals ever – male or female, depending on the outcome.

By competing in the tournament alone, she made history as the first gymnast from the United States to compete in six world competitions, Party tonight reported. At 26, she will become the oldest US woman to compete in the pageant in more than 50 years, according to the outlet.

Team USA’s Simone Biles competes on beam during the women’s qualification on day two of the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

Matthias Hangst/Getty

Simone Biles eyes World Championships after 2-year hiatus: ‘I feel a lot more confident now’ (Exclusive)

During the competition, Biles landed one of the hardest jumps in the world for the first time on the world stage.

Yurchenko successfully performed a double jump on Sunday, a few weeks after landing at the USA National Championships.

In landing gear, the vault – which has a rounded entrance and a rear handspring on the device followed by two reversals – is now known as “Biles II”.

He has a 6.4 difficulty rating at the world championships, according to NBC Sports. Last year at the competition, the most demanding jump received a rating of 5.6, per drop.

For Biles, the vault has been in her arsenal since 2021, but she has never performed it in international competition before, writes NBC Sports.

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As for whether she’ll focus on Paris for the 2024 Olympics, Biles told PEOPLE in August that she’s taking it one day at a time.

“Well, in the future, for God’s sake, I feel like Paris is always a good topic to visit, but I think right now I’m going to live in the present,” she said. “I just did the Classics and the Championships and I’m back here competing even though I didn’t think I would, especially coming back to the same level and having the same confidence.”

She added: “I’m really proud of myself for that. So I’d say I’m looking forward to carrying that energy over to the next pairings this year.”

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Source: HIS Education