Biles, Americans roll at world championships
Despite a couple of missteps, Biles leads the way as Americans win by 8.766 points
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, of Spring, who continues to compete at the world gymnastics championships while waiting to pass a kidney stone, leads the U.S. women’s team to another world team title Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.
Even with a couple of bobbles by four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, who continues to compete at the world gymnastics championships while waiting to pass a kidney stone, the USA Gymnastics women’s team won the world team title Tuesday in Doha, Qatar.
With Biles, 21, of Spring, competing on all four events, the U.S. women totaled 171.629 points to lead second-place Russia at 162.863. China was third at 162,396, followed by Canada at 161.844.
Biles, who was diagnosed last weekend as suffering from a kidney stone that she has dubbed the “Pearl of Doha,” now moves on to the women’s all-around final Thursday and individual event finals over the weekend.
The U.S. team’s margin of victory in its sixth consecutive world or Olympic team championship dating to 2011 was 8.766 points compared to 8.209 points at the 2016 Olympics and 6.693 points at the 2014 worlds.
The U.S. team of Biles, Kara Eaker of Grain Valley, Mo.; Morgan Hurd of Middletown, Del.; Grace McCallum of Isanti, Minn.; and Riley McCusker of Brielle, N.J., had the top combined score on each of the four events. Russia was second on uneven bars and balance beam, Canada was second on vault and Brazil on floor exercise.
Of the U.S. team’s dominance, Biles said in an interview provided by event organizers, “It’s just instilled in us. We’re used to it, but we also know the expectations that we have on ourselves whenever we go out there, so I think that’s what keeps us going.”
Since team finals feature three gymnasts from each of the eight teams performing on each of the four events in women’s gymnastics, only seven of 40 competitors competed in all four events Tuesday. Biles had 58.865 points on her four events, down from 60.965 in team qualifying, but she was still the dominant performer.
Her uncharacteristic errors Tuesday included a rough landing on a front pike somersault on balance bean. Her left foot came off
the beam, and she bent forward, rotating her body to the left as her left leg bent behind her, and touched the bar with her right hand to steady herself.
She had a similar slip during the Rio Olympics, and it cost her a gold medal in that event, resulting in a bronze.
“I get a little jittery every time I go into that skill (piked front somersault) because it’s near the end and I know what I’m capable of,” Biles said. “I don’t know why I get so shy on that skill. It’s a forwardlanding skill, but in practice it’s usually good, so I think it shakes me up and I lose a little focus. But it’s something we need to work on.”
She also bounced out of bounds on her first tumbling pass, which resulted in a deduction of a tenth of a point, and she did an easier vault than the double-twisting skill she performed in team qualifying that now bears her name in gymnastics’ code of points.
Hurd, who won last year’s world all-around title as Biles took a year off from competition and training, lost a tenth of a point on floor as well. Even with the bobbles, though, the U.S. team was light years ahead of its competition.
“We hold ourselves for high expectations every time we step on the mat,” Biles said. “When we have mistakes, you can see us get a little bit upset. We’re going to win, anyway, but it’s our personal performance we feel rather than the scoreboard.”
Biles said she has missed only one training session, that coming Saturday after a Friday visit to the emergency room in Doha, where she learned she had a kidney stone, and she said she is doing well.
“I’m in a little bit of pain, but nothing too crazy,” Biles said. “We’re managing the pain.”