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Skye Blakely is your world all-around champion. What an incredible result.
But also, how? Just a couple of weeks ago, I would have told you the all-around podium would in all likelihood include Kaylia Nemour, Angelina Melnikova and Hezly Rivera. Before the U.S. Worlds Trials, I didn’t even have Blakely on my worlds team due to her lack of consistency.
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Fate had other plans. Melnikova and Rivera were held back by geopolitics and ankles, respectively, leaving only Nemour to compete from this top group. Then Blakely started hitting, a lot.
Blakely, who made three finals at these worlds, had a beautiful DTY in the all-around with just the tiniest of hops on the landing (14.200). Her bars were excellent, and she stuck her landing (14.400), putting her in first at the half. I could not breathe during her beam routine, which was amazing; her standing full was rammed into the beam, and she smiled after nailing her switch half (more on that below). A 14.200 kept her in first after the third rotation. On floor, her front double tuck to stag jump was perfection (12.933), giving her a 55.733 to win the competition.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Liudmila Roshchina in second. I underestimated WG2 (Russia) more generally, assuming they would be stressed out by the visa situation. But Roshchina thrived in qualifications and is still one of the top all-arounders in the world. Her DTY had crossed legs but was hit for a 14.033. She missed the handstand on that eyesore orphan half turn but got a 14.333 on bars that put her in second at the half. She looked terrified on beam but hit (13.433) and ended the third rotation in second. She had a strong floor routine to finish with a 13.400 and a 55.199 all-around.
Ke Qinqin rounded out the podium. Her DTY earned a 14.033. She hit a beautiful bars set for a 13.900 and was in second at the halfway mark. She looked tentative on beam, and kept making adjustments throughout, and over-rotated her dismount so far that she rolled onto her back. But her high D score kept her in the conversation, with a 13.833 to put her in third after the third rotation. On floor, I do love a good triple twist, and the rest was hit for a 13.266. A score of 55.032 got her the bronze.
Nemour came in as the clear favorite. She was in first after qualifications and has the top all-around score of the year. But here, she scored a 12.366 on vault after basically balking her block and doing just an Yurchenko layout. Nemour moved on to bars, where she missed a connection but otherwise hit for a 14.866. Beam was hit, other than a leg up on her acro series (14.500), and she clawed her way back up to fourth place after the third rotation. She hit floor (13.266) and managed to eke out a fourth-place finish. I wouldn’t be surprised if she reveals tomorrow that she had stomach flu.
Aiko Sugihara qualified in 21st but made huge improvements here, hitting floor (13.400) and vault (14.266) to put her in fourth at the half. She hit bars for a 13.533 and looked thrilled; her face said “I already have a medal, so.” She hit beam (13.566) and held onto a stick for the landing to finish in fifth.
Elena Colas vaulted for a 13.200 here and earned an impressive 14.433 on bars after nearly sticking her landing. She looked nervous on beam, but her only big error was a hop back on her dismount (13.933). On floor, she was short on a couple of landings, but she hit four-for-four, and should be very proud (13.100) of her sixth-place finish.
Claire Pease started out a bit timid on bars but hit, with a stuck dismount for a 13.833. Then, she was way off on her acro series on beam and hopped off (12.533). She got back in the groove for floor, where she just had her standard landing errors (13.733). She finished with her Cheng, which was piked at the end and landed with one foot out of bounds. A 14.133 gained her a lot of ground, and she finished in seventh.
So no, the podium was not what we expected. It’s still a delightful result; I’ve always been a Blakely fan, and it’s amazing to see her do what she’s capable of. Honestly, if I had to choose, I would rather have a Blakely gold than a Team USA gold.
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China wins team final
China won the team final, breaking the U.S.’s team gold streak that began in 2011 by just over two tenths. Team USA came in second, and Japan improved on a rough qualification round to finish third, an incredible result for them and their first team medal in 60 years.
I’m very excited for this development. It’s great to see China meet their potential when it mattered most. Since the dream team of 2008, China’s best team finish has been bronze in 2016 and 2018. There have been many other competitions where China was “in the mix” for a medal, but didn’t hit when it mattered. They’ve also been held back by low difficulty on vault and floor.
With two solid DTYs, a killer beam rotation, and, most importantly, consistent routines, this team came here to win. China had a solid start on vault. Ke Qinqin’s DTY was landed short but beautiful in the air, and Du Siyu’s DTY was more solid, giving them a 40.966, their highest vault score in a 5-3-3 format this year. Zhang Qingying started bars with a hit, and Qiu Qiyuan and Du kept the momentum going. They improved here by over a point from qualifications.
Then came the beam rotation, where China really earned their gold medal. Granted, Ke started a bit shaky. But Zhang was simply incredible, nearly sticking her dismount.
Qiu had a few errors and landed in a squat. But what they lost there was gained by their incredible split and ring positions. In the fourth rotation, China just needed to hold on. Zhang and Ke won this for China with routines that went 13+.
They reacted like this:
U.S. takes silver
Following Hezly Rivera’s withdrawal, it was clear the meet would be tight. China was good but not excellent in qualifications, with errors on bars. And the U.S. hit 16-for-16 — Dulcy Caylor came in clutch on beam, and Skye Blakely had an incredible performance. It could have gone either way.
Charleigh Bullock had a clean DTY with a large step back. Claire Pease did her Cheng with just some form in the air and a tiny hop back. Blakely’s DTY was beautiful, just the tiniest hop back to give them a 42.633, a healthy lead over China going into the second rotation.
Bullock’s bars were clean, as were Pease’s. Blakely was incredible; her routine was the best she could do it, and they improved on their quals score by about .8. They went into the third rotation with nearly two points on China.
Meanwhile, Caylor opened on beam, which was great until her double pike dismount, which was under-rotated and she stumbled back and fell. Pease was excellent. Blakely hit but had a few wobbles, and her switch half didn’t get credited. They finished over a point lower than quals and they lost their lead — now China was ahead by over two points going into floor.
Pease and Caylor did a great job, but then Reese Esponda struggled with landings to get a 13.400, and they finished just .2 behind China. China hit 12-for-12, and the U.S. hit 11-for-12. China earned the gold, but this finish shows us that the U.S. had the greater potential.
Japan thrives for historic bronze
After all the hype about Japan, they did not meet expectations in qualifications. Instead, they brought it for the team final, where their performance was a definite improvement. They had three hit beam routines, followed by a floor rotation that included a 13.900 from Aiko Sugihara, .8 higher than her qualification score. This put them in third after the second rotation. Strong DTYs from Misa Nishiyama, Rina Kishi and Sugihara kept them steadily in third. Nishiyama unfortunately finished the final rotation with a fall on bars, but they still won bronze over France by nearly three points.
Outside of the podium, we had a rough competition from Russia, despite them exceeding anyone’s expectations at qualifications thanks to an excellent performance from Liudmila Roshchina. There, they placed third behind the U.S. But they struggled in the finals, starting with major errors on bars and then continuing on beam. The biggest shocker team-wise was the absence of Great Britain, which had four falls on beam in qualifications and was kicked out of the final.
If you want a true play-by-play of every routine in this final, I recommend you head to The Balance Beam Situation.
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Schedule and preview
Detailed schedule. Vault and bars finals will be held today, and beam and floor will be held tomorrow, both at 8:00 a.m. ET.
Watch worlds at Eurovision and follow live scores at Longines. More details (h/t Reddit hero).
Vault
Rebecca Andrade leads on vault with her Lopez and DTY. She’s my favorite to win; she’s super consistent and has incredible execution. Yeo Seojeong sits right behind Andrade, and Pease is in third. I wouldn’t be surprised if this podium stays just as it stands now, unless Pease makes a marked improvement in execution on her Cheng.
Start List
Yeo Seojeong
Lia-Monica Fontaine
Skye Blakely
Abigail Martin
Ellie Black
Rebeca Andrade
Claire Pease
Victoria Mata
Bars
Nemour’s bars had big errors in quals, including a missed connection, but she’s still in first there because she’s Nemour. Helen Kevric hit in qualifications and sits in second; she’s a podium favorite for sure.
Aside from them, the field is super tight, and it will come down to who hits. Normally, I would favor China, but their best bar workers failed to make the final. This ended up being good news for Blakely, who was able to sneak in.
Start List
Kaylia Nemour
Skye Blakely
Naomi Visser
Elisa Iorio
Guilia Perotti
Helen Kevric
Alena Glotova
Elena Colas
Beam
Zhang Qingying killed it on beam for a 15.100. China should go 1-2 here, with Qiu Qiyuan right behind her. After that, who knows. Flavia placed third in quals; I would love to see her get a medal.
Start List
Kaylia Nemour
Skye Blakely
Manila Esposito
Mana Okamura
Elena Colas
Qiyuan Qiu
Flavia Saraiva
Qingying Zhang
Floor
Reese Esponda gave World Gymnastics the finger by changing her routine and still coming in first by two tenths with a 6.0 D score. After her, the field is very tight.
Start List
Alice Kinsella
Abigail Martin
Lia-Monica Fontaine
Lia Grace Redick
Liudmila Roshchina
Reese Esponda
Maiana Prat
Claire Pease
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Five at The IX: Chellsie Memmel
Chellsie Memmel spoke to the media following the team final (Gymnastics Now).
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
