USA takes home five medals on final day of World Championships, Biles Reaches 10 Career Gold Medals, 14 Overall

GLASGOW, Great Britain – Three-time World all-around champion Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre, picked up World gold medals number nine and 10 on balance beam and floor exercise, respectively, today as the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships came to a close at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow, Great Britain. Biles now holds the record for most World Championships gold medals by a female gymnast, which was previously held by Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina, Romania’s Gina Gogean and the Soviet Union’s Larisa Latynina at nine. Biles’ career 14 medals put her in a tie for third with Latynina and behind only Khorkina (20) and Gogean (15). 

In addition to Biles’ two golds, the U.S. picked up three medals with Danell Leyva of Miami/Team
Hilton (Universal Gymnastics) grabbing silver on the parallel bars, Maggie Nichols of Little Canada, Minn./Twin City Twisters, taking bronze on floor, and Donnell Whittenburg of Baltimore, Md./Team Hilton (U.S. Olympic Training Center), earning bronze on vault. 

Overall, the U.S. earned 10 medals in Glasgow: women’s team, gold; Biles, all-around, balance beam and floor exercise gold, and vault bronze; Douglas, all-around silver; Kocian, uneven bars gold; Leyva, parallel bars silver; Nichols, floor exercise bronze; and Whittenburg, vault bronze. 

Whittenburg vaulted a front handspring double front half out, named for Romania’s Marian Dragulescu, who was also participating in the final. He earned a 15.100. His second vault, a full-twisting, double Tsukahara, scored 15.600, giving him an 15.350 average. Whittenburg took the bronze medal behind North Korea’s Ri Se Gwang (15.450) and Dragulescu (15.400). 

Biles was solid on the beam in a final where many of her competitors had challenges. She opened with a wolf two-and-a-half turn, then nailed her barani. She was clean and controlled on her back handspring, layout stepout, layout stepout series and stuck her tucked full-in. She posted 15.358 to take gold by more than a point over the Netherland’s Sanne Wevers, who posted 14.333. Germany’s Pauline Schaefer was the bronze medalist with 14.133. 

In the parallel bars final, Leyva scored 15.666 after swinging through a peach, peach full, peach Diamidov opening combination. He executed a front uprise to Suarez and nearly stuck his double front dismount. Leyva finished sixth. China’s You Hao scored 16.216 for gold with Ukraine’s Oleg Verniaiev grabbing the silver at 16.066. Azerbaijan’s Oleg Stepko and China’s Deng Shudi shared the bronze medal with matching 15.966 scores. 

Biles was second to go in the floor final and set the bar early with a 15.800 that could not be caught. She tumbled a full-twisting double layout, the Biles to sissone, a tucked double-double and a full-in. Nichols was third, controlling her double-double opening pass with ease. She closed with a double back for a 15.000. Russia’s Ksenia Afanaseva won the silver (15.100). 

Leyva picked up his fifth World medal with a silver on the high bar. He drew gasps from the crowd as he caught his layout Kovacs and Kohlman. He stuck his dismount, a layout double-double, for a 15.700. Japan’s Kohei Uchimura took top honors with a 15.833. Cuba’s Manrique Larduet was third, posting 15.600. Chris Brooks of Houston/Team Hilton (U.S. Olympic Training Center), started strong on his high bar routine with a Zou Li Min to a Yamawaki-half but then slipped off as he caught his Tkatchev-half. He closed with a double-twisting, double layout for a 13.800 and sixth place.