Simone Biles wins 6th Worlds title, becomes most decorated gymnast in history
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on October 7, 2023
(NEW YORK) — Simone Biles has made gymnastics history.
On Friday, the gymnastics superstar, 26, won her 27th world championship medal when she earned the gold for the individual all-around title at the world championships in Antwerp, Belgium with a score of 58.399 in the women’s all-around.
The win was her sixth all-around title, which makes her tied for the most in history (man or woman). She is tied with Vitaly Scherbo, who competed for the Soviet Union, the Unified Team and Belarus throughout his career.
Biles now holds 34 World and Olympic medals, making her the most decorated gymnast in history.
Shilese Jones, Biles’ Team USA teammate, also earned bronze in the women’s all-around category with a score of 56.332. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil earned a score of 56.766 and won silver.
At the podium after her win, Biles was in tears as the national anthem played in the background.
The win comes two days after the Women’s National Gymnastics Team cemented a spot in sports history with its seventh consecutive world championship title.
Biles, who leads the team, helped carry Team USA to a record-breaking gold medal at the world championships. The gymnast performed a floor routine, which earned the highest score of the day and solidified the team’s victory by more than two points over Brazil.
Biles’ history-making win on Friday was also a full-circle moment for the athlete. A decade ago, the U.S. gymnast won her first individual all-around title in the same city when she made her global debut at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
ABC News’ Jill Tatara and Rachel Katz contributed to this report.
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