American gymnasts have returned to the top of the podium after ending a gold medal streak in women’s gymnastics team competitions a year ago. In a group that included Olympians and newcomers on this stage, the U.S. women won the world championships by a comfortable margin.
There was a lot of expectation for a tight race for the medals during Tuesday’s team competition in Liverpool, England. Even though the Americans were regarded as favorites for gold, they weren’t as sure of a podium spot as they were at times in the past decade when Simone Biles lifted the team far above the competition.
There were 11 solid routines from this U.S. squad, led by Tokyo Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey. With a total of 166.564, the Americans swept the field, beating out Britain (163.363) and Canada (160.563). However, all of the medal-winning teams left gymnasts crying: Britain, which had won a bronze in Tokyo, won its best finish at the world championships, while Canada, which hit all 12 routines, won its first medal.
Because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia remains barred from international competition, despite winning gold in Tokyo. The United States and Britain, the two top teams in the qualifying round, rotated through the competition together from vault to floor, as the closest challenger to the Americans.
In the final three floor routines, the Americans only needed to avoid major mistakes to secure a lead. The United States held a lead throughout, including a 2.2-point lead with one apparatus left. For the sixth consecutive gold for the U.S. women at this event, Shilese Jones, Carey and Chiles each performed well at the world championships, including Shilese Jones, Carey and Chiles.
After struggling with multiple falls in qualifying three days ago, Chiles was a steady veteran on each apparatus, highlighted by her excellent beam routine. She finished in second place at U.S. nationals this summer and had never competed at worlds or Olympics. In Liverpool, she had strong performances on vault, bars and floor. The national champion Konnor McClain withdrew from the U.S. selection process for the world championships due to injury, Jones has had a standout season and will be the top seed in the all-around competition.
After Skye Blakely fell on a hard beam skill, a backflip with a full twist, the United States gave Britain a brief chance to close the gap. Her rest of the routine was superb, and she still earned the team’s second-best score (13.266) ahead of Carey, who did not make any major mistakes, but had a lower difficulty score and a few minor execution deductions. In the beam, Britain’s last competitor fell moments later, allowing the Americans to regain control.
Aside from Carey, Jones led the team in bars (14.333) and Chiles led in beam (13.333) among the U.S. gymnasts.
During last year, Chiles, Carey and Leanne Wong competed in NCAA gymnastics before returning to the elite ranks this summer. Although she did not compete on bars during qualifying, Wong performed an impressive routine on that apparatus in the final.
She hasn’t made a firm decision yet whether she will be returning to elite competition after winning the Olympic all-around in Tokyo. Biles said she hasn’t retired, but she hasn’t shared firm plans about training for another Olympics. Until last summer’s Games, the Americans had won the team gold at all world championships and Olympics, sometimes by a wide margin due to Biles’ dominance. In Tokyo, the United States took silver, but with this new-look team they returned to the top.
The team began on beam, and its first athlete, Tang Xijing, fell three times, and China fell out of medal contention because every score counts toward the total. China was last after the first rotation due to another Chinese gymnast falling off the apparatus. China eventually climbed to sixth place out of eight teams. Multiple Italian athletes fell on release elements during their bars routines early in the competition, which led to Italy finishing fifth.
In the team competitions, Brazil has developed into a contender due to the addition of Olympic silver medalist Rebeca Andrade and two-time Olympian Flavia Saraiva. Saraiva, however, was limited by an injury and was only able to contribute on bars.
With their final routines, Japan and Canada battled for the bronze, while the United States and Britain appeared poised to finish in second and third places. Japan’s final competitor Fukasawa Kokoro performed disastrously on bars, sending the team to seventh place. The Canadian team won its first world championship medal with Ellie Black, who won the beam routine with a solid routine.
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