US Women Dominate at the Gymnastics World Championships

Even though it seems like the Olympics were just here, it’s been more than a year and it’s time to get excited about other gymnastics competitions and news—such as the United States team’s stellar performance at this year’s Gymnastics World Championships, where two members of the Fierce Five, McKayla Maroney and Kyla Ross, competed. However, it was 16-year-old Simone Biles who performed like no other US athlete ever has at this event. As a whole, the US team won 12 medals, three of which were gold, and five on the final day of the event.

The Championships took place in Antwerp, where the US won the overall medal count for the first time since 2005. Biles wrapped up one of the most successful World Championships by a single athlete in history. She became the first African-American woman to win the main All-Around title, which she did by a large margin, taking medals in every event except for the uneven bars part of the gymnastic competitions, where she finished fourth. Her performance is inspiration for young girls everywhere who are interested in signing up for gymnastics classes.

The youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team, Kyla Ross, won three silver medals and received praise in regards to her style, for what commentators called the “International Look.” 

The men did not fare quite as well as the women—however, the U.S.’s Steven Legendre ended the longest drought in event finals in U.S. gymnastics. He won a silver in Men’s Vault, which had not been won by an American at the Olympics or World Championships since Mitch Gaylord won a silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

The U.S. team’s previous medal high was nine at the 2005 World Championships, all won by female competitors. Since then, China led the medal count in artistic gymnastics at the world championship competitions and Olympic games—until this year.

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Image courtesy usagym.org