Skye Blakely, 21, scored 55.733 to win the women's all-around in Rotterdam on Friday, 23 October, the first US winner of the world all-around since Simone Biles in 2023.
Blakely ruptured her right Achilles tendon during floor training two days before the US trials for the 2024 Paris Games, and the injury required surgery.
Kaylia Nemour scored 12.366 on vault after a straight salto instead of a double twist, then 14.866 on uneven bars, and missed bronze by 34 thousandths of a point.
Defending world champion Angelina Melnikova of Russia could not compete because Dutch authorities refused her a visa.
Skye Blakely of the United States won the women's all-around at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam on Friday, 23 October, with 55.733 points from vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. The 21-year-old entered the final as the second-ranked qualifier, held a lead of 1.001 points before the last rotation and kept it on floor. Russia's Liudmila Roshchina took silver on 55.199 and China's Ke Qinqin, 16, took bronze on 55.032. Blakely is the first American to win the world all-around since Simone Biles in 2023, and it is her first individual world medal, after two team golds with the US in 2022 and 2023.
Data from the article text
After qualifying in Rotterdam, Blakely said:
“I already cried, but it just means the world to me.”
Her route to the title was long. She ruptured her right Achilles tendon during floor training two days before the US trials for the 2024 Paris Games, an injury that required surgery and ended a season in which she had been runner-up to Simone Biles at the national championships. Earlier she had torn an elbow ligament while warming up for the Tokyo Olympic trials. Her injuries forced her to pull out of the last two Olympic Games.
Kaylia Nemour of Algeria, 19 and the 2024 Paris Olympic champion, had led qualification and was the favourite. Her vault went wrong: she performed a straight salto where a double twist had been planned and scored 12.366, which left her 21st after one apparatus. On uneven bars, her signature event, she scored 14.866 and climbed to a shared sixth place at the halfway point. She finished fourth, 34 thousandths of a point behind the bronze medallist, and the chart below shows her two apparatus scores.
Data from the article text
Nemour now has a chance at gold in the apparatus final on Saturday, 24 October, where the rest of the field must beat her on uneven bars. She goes into that final as the defending world champion. She is also scheduled to compete on balance beam on Sunday, 25 October.
Defending world champion Angelina Melnikova of Russia was not in Rotterdam, because Dutch authorities refused her a visa. Her compatriot Liudmila Roshchina, 18, did receive one and competed under the 'World Gymnastics 2' banner, winning her first individual medal at an international title tournament. Naomi Visser, the only Dutch gymnast in the final, finished 11th with 52.866 points, a little over a point below her qualifying score of 53.965, and she is due in the bars apparatus final on Saturday. British gymnasts Alice Kinsella and Abi Martin finished 13th and 18th with 52.765 and 51.599 points. Earlier in the week the US team took silver behind China in the team competition.
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Blakely scored 55.733 across four apparatus at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships on Friday, 23 October, ahead of Russia's Liudmila Roshchina and China's Ke Qinqin. Favourite Kaylia Nemour of Algeria slipped to fourth after a vault error.
AI text based on reports by The Guardian, BBC, NOS and other publishers. Published .