ANTWERP, Belgium — There’s no rest for Simone Biles and her U.S. teammates. Not when there are more medals to be won.
One day after winning a record sixth all-around title at the world gymnastics championships and becoming the most decorated gymnast, male or female, in history, Biles will return to the vault and uneven bars finals on Saturday. She received the highest score on vault and fifth on bars.
Biles has already won two vault world titles in 2018 and 2019, as well as three other medals. She won a medal on the uneven bars and a silver medal at the 2018 World Championships.
Biles also qualified for Sunday’s balance beam and floor exercise finals, giving her a chance to replicate her feat at the 2018 world championships, when she became the first person in 30 years to win in all events at a competition. Medal for women.
Simone Biles wins silver in vault, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade takes gold
ANTWERP, Belgium — Simone Biles has lost his world championship vault title because he put safety first.
Brazilian Rebeca Andrade’s total score on two vaults was 14.750, 0.201 points higher than Biles. But Biles’ score included a half-point deduction because she had coach Laurent Landy on the mat while doing a Yurchenko double pike, a difficult vault that few have attempted.
Randy did not touch or assist Biles. He only steps in when something goes wrong, as Yurchenko has no save with a double spear. If Biles was off-center, she would likely land on her head or neck.
Even more absurdly, the International Gymnastics Federation does allow coaches to stand on the mat during uneven bars competitions. For security reasons.
Biles wasn’t perfect Saturday. She gained so much power on the Yurchenko Double Spear (now known as the Byers II) that she over-rotated, landed on her heels and fell onto her back. She also performed a slight jump on her second vault, “Cheng.”
Andrade isn’t perfect either. But the judges didn’t seem to notice she was dragging her feet as her Cheng landed, giving her 15 points with a 9.4 execution score.
This is Biles’ 28th medal at the World Championships. Her 35 medals at the World Championships and Olympics are more than any other gymnast, male or female.
Simone Biles vault score: 14.549 because Yurchenko’s double throw was too powerful
ANTWERP, Belgium — Only Simone Biles can match the power of Yurchenko’s double spear.
Biles spun the vault that now bears her name — Biles II, for those keeping track — and landed on her heels. She lay on her back and quickly stood up to salute the judges. Her score was 14.433, although that included a half-point deduction for having her coach Laurent Landy stand on the mat for safety reasons.
She jumped slightly back on the second vault and scored 14.666. Her total score was 14.549, and she had to wait until the end of the final to find out if she would win her third vault title, as Brazilian Rebeca Andrade finished last.
Leanne Wong vault score: 13.466
NTWERP, Belgium — Leanne Wong knows how to do her job.
Yes, it was an attempt on the part of the International Gymnastics Federation and/or Swiss timing, and they screwed up, forcing Ms. Huang to appeal to get her deserved spot in the vault finals. But Huang didn’t let the drama bother her, midway through the vault final, finishing second behind Simone Biles with a score of 13.466.
Huang finished 10th in the vault qualifying round, which would normally have made her the second alternate for the eight-man final. However, she was not initially eligible because Biles and Jocelyn Robertson had higher scores than Huang and the individual finals from each country were limited to two people.
But Robertson injured his leg while warming up before the team finals and had to withdraw from the vault finals. This means Huang is now eligible as a substitute and should take the spot vacated by Britain’s Jessica Gadilova withdrew.
However, someone screwed up and Hungary’s Maria Csenge Bacskay was announced as Gadilova’s successor.
Huang appealed and FIG corrected itself. But since it had been shown that Batskaj was competing, both Huang and Batskaj participated in the vault final. This mistake will have consequences for Olympic qualifications and it would not be surprising if the affected gymnasts end up being taken to court by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Fred Richard’s baseline score wasn’t enough for a medal: 13.20
ANTWERP, Belgium — Fred Richard of the United States did not win a medal in the floor exercise.
Richard finished last in the eight-man final after under-rotating his final tumbling pass and needing to put his hands down to prevent himself from hitting the mat. His time was 13.20, more than 1.5 points behind the champion, Israel’s Atem Dolgopiat.
Still, these world championships were a success for Richard, a rising star in the U.S. men’s basketball team. He won a bronze medal in the all-around event, the first all-around medal for an American men at the world championships since 2010, after helping the U.S. men win their first team medal since 2014, also a bronze medal.
Where to watch the World Gymnastics Championships finals: TV channels, online live streaming
The event finals will be broadcast live on Peacock beginning at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, with highlights on CNBC on October 8. The full schedule can be found here.
World Gymnastics Championships Schedule
Saturday’s tournament finals schedule is:
- Men’s floor exercise, 8 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. ET
- Women’s vault, 8:50-9:35 a.m.
- pommel horse, 9:40-10:25 a.m.
- Uneven bars, 10:30-11:15 a.m.
- Still ringing at 11:20 p.m.
What is the event final?
This part of the competition determines who is the best gymnast in each single event.
The top eight gymnasts in each of the women’s vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise and the men’s floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bars qualify for the finals, with places limited to two per country.
Who made it to which final?
Biles qualified for the finals of all four events. Hillese Jones, who won bronze in the all-around on Friday night, should be in contention for a medal on the uneven bars, where she had the second-highest qualifying time. She also reached the finals on the balance beam and floor exercise.
Joscelyn Roberson, the youngest member of the U.S. women’s vault team, made the vault finals but said Saturday she would withdraw due to a leg injury she sustained during warmups before the team finals. Leanne Wong reached the vault final after Britain’s Jessica Gadilova withdrew due to injury on Saturday.
Skye Blakely finished eighth in the qualifying round but did not make it to the finals due to the rule of only two players per country.
The U.S. men’s team has at least one member competing in each final, except for the rings. All-around bronze medalist Fred Richard qualified for Saturday’s floor exercise final. Paul Juda made the vault and high bar finals, while Khoi Young made the pommel horse and vault finals. Asher Hong and Yul Moldauer both entered the parallel bars finals.
Hungarian gymnast unexpectedly announces participation in vault competition
Antwerp, Belgium – The final of the tournament has not yet started, but dramatic scenes have already unfolded.
American Leanne Wong finished 10th in the vault qualifying round, which would normally make her the second alternate for the eight-body gymnastics final. However, she was not initially eligible as Simone Biles and Jocelyn Robertson scored higher than Huang and the finals from each country were limited to two people.
But Robertson had to withdraw from the vault final due to a leg injury while warming up before the team final. This means Huang is now eligible as a substitute and should take the spot vacated by Britain’s Jessica Gadilova withdrew.
However, someone screwed up and Hungary’s Maria Csenge Bacskay was announced as Gadilova’s successor.
The International Gymnastics Federation corrected itself without explaining how the error occurred. (My guess is that someone looked at the initial starting list, not the full qualifying results.) But since it was already said that Batsky was competing, both Huang and Batsky will compete in the vault finals.
All of which goes to show that the two people per country rule is stupid and the FIG should abandon it.
Any updates on Jocelyn Robertson?
Yes. The 17-year-old said on Saturday she would withdraw from the vault final because she injured her leg while warming up for the team final. The news comes as no surprise given that Roberson is still walking.
“I hate to tell you this, but I’m withdrawing from the vault finals,” Robertson posted on Instagram. “In the team finals, I didn’t vault enough and a weird thing happened. I was hoping to come back, but I need this.” Some time to rest and recover. Thank you to everyone who wished me a speedy recovery! I’m so lucky to be here and I’m grateful for it!!”
Robertson was replaced in the vault final by Canada’s Ellie Black.
Robertson injured his left leg during warmups before the team’s final game Wednesday night. She landed on a vault and immediately squatted without putting weight on her legs. Coach Laurent Landy lifted her off the podium and handed her to his wife and associate coach, Cecil Landy, who took her to the training staff.
Robertson eventually returned to the court to cheer on her teammates, but her leg was heavily bandaged and her foot rested on a splint-like platform. As the U.S. women’s team collected medals for its record seventh consecutive title, Robertson also jumped on one foot, with help from Simone Biles and Laurent Landy.
What time does the tournament final start in Antwerp, Belgium?
Antwerp is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so the event final begins there at 2pm on Saturday.
