Biles wins 23rd worlds medal, misses out on uneven bars
STUTTGART: Simone Biles claimed a record-equalling 23rd medal at the gymnastics world championships yesterday, leading an American one-two finish in the vault final in Stuttgart. Biles produced two breathtaking vaults — a Cheng and an Amanar — to finish with an average score of 15.399 inside a packed arena.
The 22-year-old has now matched Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record tally of 23 world medals and she can surpass him later later if she takes another medal in the asymmetric bars final.
Four-time Olympic champion Biles was joined on the podium by team mate Jade Carey, who finished with an average score of 14.883 for her second world medal in three years on the apparatus.
Britain’s Ellie Downie landed two well-executed vaults to claim bronze for her first individual medal at the worlds.
It was Biles’s 17th world title and her third victory in Stuttgart this week.
She helped the United States to win their fifth consecutive team title on Tuesday before collecting a record-extending fifth all-around world title on Thursday.
Earlier, Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines became the first gymnast from his country to ever win a gold medal at the world championships, edging Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat in the floor exercise final in Stuttgart yesterday. Yulo, the youngest competitor in this year’s event at 19, consistently posted controlled landings to post an impressive score of 15.300 points - 0.1 more than second-placed Dolgopyat.
Raising the degree of difficulty from 6.2 to 6.5 paid dividends for Yulo as he outperformed Dolgopyat, who came into the final as the top qualifier.
China’s Xiao Ruoteng followed a disappointing fourth-place finish in Friday’s allaround final by claiming the bronze medal.
Tokyo-based Yulo improved on last year’s bronze medal, which made him the first Filipino ever to occupy a podium spot at the championships.
Yulo is enjoying a memorable week in Stuttgart, having punched his ticket for next year’s Tokyo Olympics with an 18th-place finish in the all-around qualifying. —