USA’s 5th title
Biles rewrites history
THE United States women cruised to their fifth consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships in Stuttgart on Tuesday, with Simone Biles becoming the event’s most decorated woman.
The Americans hardly made a mistake in the finals, with Biles helping them to a score of 172.330 -- 5.801 points more than second-placed Russia.
Italy (164.796) took third spot for its first world team medal since 1950, while China slipped off the podium for the first time since 2003.
Biles secured her 21st world medal, overtaking Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina for the women’s record.
Only Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus has won more world medals with 23, which Biles could surpass by the end of the individual events this week.
“I guess it’s kind of crazy,” said Biles, who collected a record-extending 15th gold medal at the worlds.
“I feel like I haven’t gotten the chance to process it yet. “But I think we’ll do some celebrating tonight, for all of it. For the team, for the medal count, for the fifth year in a row.”
Biles is likely to break records almost every time she is in action this week but the 22-year-old conceded she still feels the pressure of delivering results on the world stage.
“Sometimes, I wish I would quit because the other day we walked out there, and I was like, ‘I literally hate this feeling. I don’t know why I keep forcing myself to do it,’” she told the Olympic Channel. “But you know, we love the thrill of it. It reminds me to never give up because, one day, I won’t have the opportunity to get that feeling.”