ANTWERP, Belgium, Oct. 2, 2013 – 2013 U.S. all-around champion Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/Bannon’s Gymnastix, Inc., and 2012 Olympic team gold medalist Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max, are first and second in the all-around rankings, respectively, with one subdivision remaining in the women’s qualification round at the 2013 World Gymnastics Championships at the Antwerp (Belgium) Sports Palace. Biles has the potential to become the first U.S. women’s gymnast since Shannon Miller in 1991 to qualify for the all-around and all four event finals. The gymnasts who advance to the final rounds will be determined following the conclusion of the fifth subdivision.
After four subdivisions, the U.S. women’s qualification rankings by event going into the final subdivision are: vault – 2012 Olympic team gold-medalist McKayla Maroney of Long Beach, Calif./All Olympia Gymnastics Center, first, and Biles, second; uneven bars – Ross, second, and Biles, fifth; balance beam – Ross, third, and Biles, fifth; floor exercise – Biles, first, and Ross (fifth; tied with Maroney but Ross gets fifth via tiebreaker); and all-around – Biles, first, Ross, second, and Maroney, sixth. Only two athletes per country per event may advance to the finals.
In the third subdivision, Biles began on the uneven bars where she performed a piked Tkatchev into a Pak salto and stuck her full-twisting, double back dismount to score a 14.800. On balance beam, Biles performed a nearly flawless dismount combination of two back handsprings to a tucked, full-in. She earned a 14.400.
With a second pass of double layout half-out, Biles dazzled the crowd on the floor exercise. She dismounted with a tucked, full-twisting double back to post a 15.033. In the final rotation on vault, Biles’ Amanar garnered a 15.900. Her second vault, a layout Podkopayeva, earned a 15.200, which gave her a 15.550 average.
Biles moved by teammate Ross to lead the all-around standings at 60.133. Ross competed in the first subdivision and posted an all-around score of 59.198.
"On floor, you have to have a lot of fun out there and I think that is the key," said Biles, who is the first woman to execute a back double layout with a half twist in international competition and the skill is now known as the Biles. "It wasn’t the best I’ve done it (the new skill), but it was exciting (to do it) and have a skill named after me."
In the fourth subdivision, Maroney began on the floor with a double layout. She nearly stuck her double pike dismount, but her routine received a 0.1 neutral deduction for going over time and garnered a 14.333.
On vault, Maroney’s trademark Amanar vault wowed the crowd, which gasped as she blocked from the horse. She earned a 15.850. Her second vault, a Yurchenko half-on, front layout full off, received a 15.433, giving her an average score of 15.641 and the top vault ranking thus far.
Maroney used a toe-on Shaposhnikova with a half and a stuck full twisting double back dismount to earn a 14.300 on the uneven bars. In the final rotation, Maroney scored a 12.666 on the balance beam after executing a piked front flip and a double pike dismount.
"I was having a lot of fun despite looking serious out there," said Maroney, who claimed an all-around score of 57.149. "It is such a privilege to compete for the all-around, and I still need a little bit more experience because I haven’t competed the all-around in a long time. I am very happy with how I did, and I am looking forward to vault finals."
The qualification round determines which gymnasts advance to the finals. The top 24-ranked gymnasts qualify for the all-around finals, with the top eight for each event advancing to the event finals. The 2013 World Championships is an individual competition and does not have a team component. The qualifiers are determined following the conclusion of the final subdivision.
The men’s competition begins on Oct. 3 with the all-around finals, featuring Sam Mikulak of Newport Coast, Calif./University of Michigan, followed by the women’s all-around final on Oct. 4. The individual event finals are slated for Oct.5-6, and five U.S. men advanced to event finals: Brandon Wynn of Voorhees, N.J./Team Hilton HHonors (Ohio State University), still rings and parallel bars; Steven Legendre of Port Jefferson, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma), floor exercise and vault; Jake Dalton of Reno, Nev./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma), floor exercise; John Orozco of the Bronx, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (U.S. Olympic Training Center), parallel bars; and Mikulak , horizontal bar.
The remaining competition schedule for the World Championships is: Oct. 3 – men’s all-around finals, 8 p.m.; Oct. 4 – women’s all-around finals, 8 p.m.; Oct. 5 – event finals, men’s floor exercise, pommel horse and still rings and women’s vault and uneven bars, 2:30 p.m.; and Oct. 6 – event finals, men’s vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars, and women’s balance beam and floor exercise, 2:30 p.m. The times listed above are for Antwerp, Belgium.
Here’s a quick overview of the various ways to watch and follow the U.S. Team’s performances at the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. For more information on the World Championships, please go to usagymworlds.com.
- Live webcast. UniversalSports.com will have a live webcast of the all-around and individual event finals from Antwerp, which will also be available at usagymworlds.com. For U.S. Eastern Daylight Savings time, the live webcasts are scheduled for: Oct. 3 –men’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 4 – women’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 5-6 – individual event finals, 8:30 a.m. (NOTE: Antwerp is 6 hours ahead of New York City; when it is noon in Antwerp, it is 6 a.m. in New York.)
- Cable TV. Universal Sports will show all of the finals live on its cable network: Oct. 3 –men’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 4 – women’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 5-6 – individual event finals, 8:30 a.m. All times are Eastern. Universal Sports will also carry encore presentations of its World telecasts. Calling the action throughout the competition will be a team comprised of play-by-play announcer Steve Schlanger alongside analysts 1984 Olympic gold medalist Bart Connor, 1996 Olympic gold-medalist Amanda Borden, and Olympian Kip Simons. Be sure to check your local listings for times. Universal Sports Network is now available on Time Warner Cable, Cox, satellite providers DIRECTV and DISH and numerous regional cable and IPTV operators in markets across the country. To find Universal Sports Network in your area, go to http://universalsports.com/tv-listings/channel-finder/.
- NBC. NBC will broadcast coverage of the World Championships from 2-4 p.m. ET on Oct. 12-13. The commentators are Al Trautwig, 1984 Olympic gold-medalist Tim Daggett and 2008 Olympic gold-medalist Nastia Liukin.
- usagymworlds.com. USA Gymnastics will provide enhanced coverage from Belgium that will include results and photos from the competition, as well as interviews and the webcast. Fans can also follow the action on Facebook, facebook.com/USAGymnastics, and Twitter, @usagym or #FIG2013Antwerp.
- Live scoring. The International Gymnastics Federation provides live scoring from its World Championships. For more information and access, go to antwerp2013.fig-gymnastics.com.