Simone Biles is well aware of her successful World Championships campaign in Antwerp, an effort that saw her claim four gold medals across four different disciplines.
The American artistic gymnast is regarded by many as the greatest of all-time and as she targets a spot on the USA’s roster for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, she made a strong stake for her claim.
She took the top prize across in the teams category, all-around, balance beam and the floor exercise to take her 23rd gold at the Worlds and her 39th senior career medal.
“World championships!!!!!,” Biles wrote on Instagram. “Whew Antwerp will always hold a special place in my heart. The first time I got a skill named after me was in this arena & 10 years later I got my 5th skill named.
“I’m speechless. I’m honored. I’m excited and I’m blessed.
“Doing it for the little girl who fell in love with the sport!!!!!”
Biles’ Antwerp success
The American qualified in first place at the all-around final, scoring 58.932, just shy of two points clear of her teammate Shilese Jones.
She would, in fact, qualify first for every event with the exception of the uneven bars as she demonstrated her high standards of quality. In the process, she became the only gymnast to qualify for all of the finals of the individual events at the 2023 Worlds.
At the all-around, Biles executed each of her routines to win gold, except a slight stumble on her floor exercises, and she helped USA claim a seventh consecutive team medal.
The 26-year-old fell at the Yurchenko double pike but went on to win silver in the vault with a score of 14.549, just 0.201 behind the winning athlete, Rebeca Andrade.
She narrowly edged out Zhou Yaqin by a tenth in the balance beam final, showing that she was capable of handling the heat when it was brought to her.
1 Comment
Pingback: Simone Biles Shows Behind-the-Scenes Glimpse of Training: 'Back at It'