American gymnast Simone Biles won two more gold medals in Nanning, China on Sunday to become the most decorated US female gymnast at a single International Gymnastics Federation world championships.
Biles, 17, added gold medals on balance beam and floor exercise to her earlier team and all-around gold medals and a silver on vault, giving her five medals in five events in which she competed. She did not make the event finals in uneven bars.
Her six career gold medals is the most for a US woman, and her nine total medals ties her with Shannon Miller, who had five golds at four world championships, and Nastia Liukin, who won four golds in three world appearances. Alicia Sacramone has 10 total medals, including four golds, in five appearances at worlds.
Biles, at a diminutive but muscular 145 cm (4 ft 9 in), won two golds, one silver and one bronze at the 2013 Worlds in Antwerp. This was her first World Championships that featured a team competition in addition to individual events, and she said the team win was her highlight moment.
“Team is most important because you can go through it together and take photos and stuff and rely on one another for support,” she said. The individual US record for most gold medals at Worlds, she said, “actually blows my mind, and it’s such an honour.”
Biles scored 15.1 on balance beam to win that event ahead of China’s Bai Yawen (15.033) and Russia’s Aliya Mustafina (14.166). She was dominant on floor, scoring 15.333 to 14.8 for Larissa Iordache of Romania and Mustafina at 14.733.
“Simone is an extremely special gymnast with great physical abilities and also nice discipline behind that to work on the areas that are not coming so easy for her,” said Martha Karolyi, the women’s national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics.
“The best proof is how she won the gold medal on beam. That’s usually not for bouncy girls, so she had to put in great effort to make sure she’s doing the right job.”
Biles agreed that she made the most improvement this year on balance beam while winning her second consecutive national all-around title and second straight all-around world title. She dealt with shoulder injuries during the year and also the decision to move with Boorman from her longtime gym in Spring while her parents, Ronald and Nellie Biles, work on a new gym in south Montgomery County.
“The gym switch was a little emotionally difficult, but Simone and I leaned on each other for support,” Boorman said. “The injury is part of the sport, and she has been pretty lucky to hold off injures and remain healthy.”
American gymnasts won 10 total medals at worlds, including Biles’ four individual medals, the women’s team gold, a men’s team bronze, a silver on parallel bars by Danell Leyva of Miami, a vault bronze for Jake Dalton of Reno, Nevada., all-around bronze by 2012 Olympic team gold medalist Kyla Ross of Aliso Veijo, California., and a vault bronze for Mykayla Skinner of Gilbert, Arizona.
