Biles vaults her way to a record 13th gold
Simone Biles made history by picking up her record 13th career gold medal at the world gymnastics championships in Qatar when she cruised to victory in the vault final Friday. Yet it’s the silver she captured on uneven bars that the Olympic and world champion may cherish more.
For years Biles viewed bars with a mixture of skepticism and scorn. There was a point in time, she acknowledges, she would have been OK with taking a “chainsaw” to every bars set in the country.
Those days are over. Helped in part by the influence of new head coach Laurent Landi, Biles now considers the event a challenge more than a chore. Maybe that’s why the smile on the podium during the medal ceremony after she came in second to Belgium’s Nina Derwael was so wide.
“I’ve come a long way,” Biles said.
Biles was given a score of 14.7 to edge Germany’s Elisabeth Seitz for silver. Derwael won the firstever gold medal for her country at worlds when the judges awarded her with a 15.2.
Biles will have a chance to add to her medal total when the meet wraps up Saturday.
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