The undisputed queen of gymnastics Simone Biles, back at a high level after a two-year break, won the 21st world title of her career in Antwerp on Friday by dominating the all-around competition, less than ten months before the Paris Olympics.
• Also read: Gymnastics: Simone Biles on her way to her sixth world championship, a record for an American
• Also read: Gymnastics: Simone Biles wins record eighth title
The American won the team title on Wednesday and achieved a total score of 58,399. In an ocean of glitter, she once again performed an all-around competition that lived up to her standards, achieving the best score on three of the four apparatus. The only thing that eluded him was the uneven bars, which was his least successful piece of equipment.
This is the American’s 27th time on a world podium and despite the routine, the now 26-year-old gymnast climbed to the top step with moist eyes. “Actually I had something in my eye that I couldn’t figure out, I swear it’s true,” she explained.
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“But I was still moved! Ten years ago I won my first world title here and we are back here. It means a lot to me as I struggled to get back and feel confident enough to compete.”
With two more days of competition, all indications are that the American’s medal harvest will be even richer as she still has four finals to compete.
“She is like wine”
Biles makes a stunning comeback in Antwerp, two years after the grueling Tokyo Olympics, marked by the episode of “Twisties,” those brutal losses of all reference in space.
Back at a high level, the diminutive 4’10” Texan appears to be on her way to the Paris Olympics after using her break to treat her mental health.
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“She always has difficulties, she is not perfect,” said her trainer, the French Cécile Landi. “(But) she proves to everyone that she can be better than before (…) She’s like wine, she gets better with age!”
During qualifying, Biles added a new line to his legend by successfully completing a unique jump of extreme difficulty that now bears his name.
On Friday, spectators at the Flemish city’s Sportpaleis witnessed another extremely rare event when the four-time Olympic champion literally stumbled with her feet on the mat during a seemingly harmless jump towards the end of her floor routine.
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The incident, which was accompanied by “ooohs” and “aaahs” from the audience and seemed to make the American smile, had no impact on the rankings.
“I tripped… Actually, I’m pretty clumsy in life outside of the gym, so it doesn’t surprise me that much that it happened,” the American explained. “I felt like my legs were heavy and I couldn’t carry them.”
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade (56.766), defending champion, took the silver medal, while the bronze medal went to another American, Shilese Jones (56.332), silver last year. The podium therefore consisted exclusively of black gymnasts, as Biles emphasized.
“We had a 100% black podium, I thought it was incredible: “Black Girl Magic!”,” smiled the Texan. “I hope it shows little girls that anything is possible if you just put your mind to it and train hard.”