KITAKYUSHU, Japan, October 21, 2021 – Leanne Wong of Overland Park, Kan., and Kayla DiCello of Boyds, Md., finished in the second and third positions during Thursday’s women’s all-around final at the 2021 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. The U.S. gymnasts were edged only by Olympic all-around bronze medalist Angelina Melnikova of Russia who claimed the top spot.
Wong delivered a 56.340 en route to the silver medal, while DiCello’s 54.566 secured her the bronze. Melnikova led the way with a 56.632, while Russia’s Vladislava Urazova (53.598) and Netherlands’ Naomi Visser (52.832) rounded out the top five.
Both DiCello and Wong are competing in their first senior World Championships and have also qualified to the balance beam and floor exercise finals slated for Sunday, starting at 4:25 p.m. local time (3:25 a.m. ET).
Yul Moldauer of Wellington, Colo., is set to represent the U.S. in Friday’s men’s all-around final. The competition kicks off at 6 p.m. (5 a.m. ET) and will air live on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA.