ANTWERP, Belgium (October 7, 2023) – Khoi Young (Bowie, Md./Stanford University) achieved redemption on pommel horse, Simone Biles (Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre) won World Championships medal #28 on vault, and Shi Jones (Auburn, Wash./Ascend Gymnastics Center) won her second straight medal on uneven bars Saturday during individual event finals at the 2023 FIG World Championships.
It was silver for Young and Biles, with Jones winning her second bronze medal and third overall medal of this year’s championships.
Biles opened the day’s competition as the first athlete up on the first apparatus – vault. Performing the Biles II for the second time in Antwerp, Biles soared so high, and rotated so rapidly, that she rolled backward on landing. Even with a .500 deduction for a spotter, and the execution impact of her landing, she earned a 14.433, then added 14.666 on her second vault, a Cheng, for a score of 14.549. She held onto the medal position until the final vaulter of the competition, when Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade scored 14.750 to win the competition. Seojeong Yeo of South Korea was third 14.416.
The amazing ride of Leanne Wong (Overland Park, Kan./University of Florida Gymnastics) continued on Saturday in Antwerp as she stepped into the vault final on short notice. Wong posted a 14.100 and 12.833 Saturday afternoon for a final score of 13.466 and a seventh-place finish.
Young was next up on the medal podium on pommel. After posting the #2 score of qualifying exactly one week ago with a 15.066, Young had fallen during the team final. On Saturday, he regained his form and turned in a tremendous performance of 14.966. Young held onto first until Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan was last up, winning the competition with a 15.100. Ahmad Abu Al Soud of Jordan took bronze with 14.633.
Expected to be one of the most tightly contested – and highest-scoring of the women’s competition, the uneven bars delivered … and so did Jones.
The first athlete up, Jones hit with a score of 14.766, with the highest execution score of the day with her 8.466. She was eventually overtaken by Qiyuan Qui of China (15.100) and Kaylia Nemour of Algeria (15.033) due to their higher difficulty. The 2022 silver medalist in the event, Jones earned her third medal of these championships and the sixth of her career with the bronze on Saturday. Biles was last up on the apparatus and had a solid routine to score 14.200 and place fifth.
After winning bronze medals in the team and all-around competition, Fred Richard (Stoughton, Mass./University of Michigan) placed eighth in the men’s floor final with a score of 13.200, continuing to wow the crowd with his artistry.
Competition in Antwerp concludes tomorrow with a busy day beginning again at 8 a.m. ET: Biles and Jones on beam and floor, Young on vault, Yul Moldauer (Arvada, Colo./5280 Gymnastics) and Asher Hong (Tomball, Texas/Stanford University) on parallel bars, and Paul Juda (Deerfield, Ill./University of Michigan) on vault and high bar.
Live results can be found here and the apparatus final rounds will stream live on Peacock.
Total: 8
Gold (2)
- Women’s team (Simone Biles, Skye Blakely, Shilese Jones, Leanne Wong, Joscelyn Roberson, Kayla DiCello)
- Simone Biles, Women’s All-Around (58.399)
Silver (2)
- Simone Biles, women’s vault (14.549)
- Khoi Young, pommel horse (14.966)
Bronze (4)
- Men’s team (Hong, Juda, Moldauer, Richard, Young, Walker)
- Fred Richard, men’s all-around (84.332)
- Shilese Jones, women’s all-around (56.332), uneven bars (14.766)
Vault Medalists
Pommel Horse Medalists
Uneven Bars Medalists