Biles sets record as most decorated gymnast in history

138

American gymnastics star, Simone Biles, has secured a new title as the world’s most decorated gymnast of all time.

This new record was set by the 26-year-old athlete during the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

During the game, the gymnast delivered several remarkable performances, including her famous Yurchenko double pike vault on Monday. As the first woman to complete the difficult sequence, she received acclaim from the audience and had the routine named after her.

On Friday, the Olympian extended her record as the highest all-around title holder after she clinched her sixth. She scored a total of 58.399 points for her balance beam, floor, vault and uneven bars performance. Notably, Biles won her first all-around title ten years ago, at the age of 16 in the same city.

The Texas native currently holds 7 Olympic and 27 World Championship medals placing her as the most decorated gymnast in the world in both male and female categories.

She had earlier tied with her Belarusian counterpart, Vitaly Scherbo, who had a total of 33 medals.

The United States team also successfully defended their title and won the championships for the seventh consecutive year on Wednesday.

Speaking of her win on Friday, Biles told reporters, “Actually, I had something in my eye today that I couldn’t get out, I swear it’s true. But I was emotional because 10 years ago I won my first worlds and now we’re back here.”

Biles’ winning streak comes after a downtime at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. During the competition, she had to pull out of several games due to medical and mental health issues.