Simone Biles becomes most decorated gymnast in the world

US gymnast receives gold medal for individual all-around title at world championships

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  Simone Biles poses during the awards ceremony after winning the all-around division of the US Classic in Illinois. Reuters

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  Simone Biles competes in the floor exercise at NOW Arena in Chicago. USA TODAY Sports

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  Simone Biles returned to competition after two years. USA TODAY Sports

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  Simone Biles performs on the balance beam during the US Classic in Chicago, Illinois. AFP

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  Simone Biles with coach Laurent Landi. Biles returned to competition after a two-year break after the Tokyo Olympics. EPA

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  Simone Biles performs a floor routine. USA TODAY Sports

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  Simone Biles competes during the US Classic. USA TODAY Sports

After a two-year absence and less than three months into her return to competition, Simone Biles is back at the top of world gymnastics once again.

The American star won the individual all-around title at the world championships for the sixth time on Friday to become the most decorated gymnast in history.

Ten years after she won her first in the same Belgian city as a 16-year-old, Biles scored 58.399 points across the balance beam, floor, vault and uneven bars to beat Rebeca Andrade, the Brazilian defending champion, by 1.633 points.

Biles's US teammate Shilese Jones took the bronze medal, with 56.332 points.

It was Biles’s 27th world championship medal – and 21st gold. It came two days after the four-time Olympic gold medallist led the US women to a record seventh straight win in the team event.

Biles now has 34 medals across the world championships and Olympics, making her the most decorated gymnast ever – male or female – at the sport’s two signature events ahead of the retired Vitaly Scherbo.

Simone Biles celebrates after winning. AFP

Biles's only blip came right at the end, as she was about to wrap up her floor routine.

After a near-flawless display, she tripped near the end of her routine as she was about to enter a sequence of leaps. But she recovered in style, and it did not cost her enough of a points deduction to rob her of the gold.

“I know my parents had a heart attack,” Biles told her coach.

With the Olympics Games in less than a year in Paris, Biles is back to her very best. And despite the fierce competition from Andrade and Jones, she remains a cut above the rest – a full decade after she started her reign.

Biles has been dominant ever since returning following a two-year break after her appearance in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics was plagued by a bout with a mental block known as “the twisties”. She was expected to repeat as individual all-around champion in Tokyo but removed herself from competition to focus on her mental well-being.

After announcing her return, she impressed at the US Classic in early August then added her eighth national title a few weeks later. She is competing at her first world championships since 2019 this week.

Biles’s competition continues this weekend with the women’s vault and uneven bars finals on Saturday and the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Sunday.