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Simone Biles leads U.S. women's team to seventh straight world gymnastics title
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- Simone Biles leads U.S. women's team to seventh straight world gymnastics title
ANTWERP, Belgium — The U.S. women got another world title. And a couple of spots in the history books to go with it.
The Americans won their seventh consecutive team title at the world gymnastics championships, breaking a tie with China 's men. The Chinese won six from 2003 to 2014. The U.S. women have now won every team title dating back to 2011.
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The team gold also was Simone Biles' 33rd medal at the world championships and Olympics, tying Vitaly Scherbo for most by any gymnast. Biles already is the most-decorated gymnast, male or female, at the world championships with 26 medals, 20 of which are gold.
Biles closed the meet with an authoritative routine on floor exercise. She got massive height on her tumbling passes and, after having to pull her heels up to stay in bounds on the first, nailed the landings on her last three passes. The crowd went wild as she finished, and coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi and the rest of the Americans lined up to hug her.
Her score of 15.166 gave the U.S. women a total of 167.729, almost 2.2 points ahead of Brazil . When it flashed, Biles hugged young teammate Joscelyn Roberson, who was injured before the meet began.
Simone Biles competes on the beam on Wednesday.
Shilese Jones falters a bit on floor routine
Shilese Jones had a lovely floor routine going until her second-to-last pass.
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Jones had to step out of bounds to control her landing, a deduction. She scored a 13.566, nearly a half-point below what she did in qualifying.
Wong wobbly on floor routine
Leanne Wong has done better floor routines.
Still seeming to be feeling the effects of a bad crash on balance beam, Wong had three significant mistakes. She might have gone out of bounds on her first tumbling pass, had to shuffle backwards on the second and overcooked the final one and bounced forward. She scored a 13.166. Still, given Wong didn't know she would be competing on floor, or vault, when the night began, she did what the U.S. women needed her to do.
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U.S. women closing in on gold with only floor to go
Despite a late injury and a fall, the U.S. women are three routines away from a record seventh consecutive world title.
The Americans have a 1.768 lead over China going into the last event, a significant gap. The U.S. women finish on floor, which is one of their best events though they do have to replace Josc Roberson in the lineup. Leanne Wong, who had a scary crash on beam, was warming up.
China, meanwhile, finishes on vault, where it can't match any of the teams in the final for difficulty.
France is third with Brazil about 0.13 points behind in fourth.
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Simone Biles eases through her beam routine for 14.3
Simone Biles performs balance beam with more ease than most people walk on flat ground.
With the exception of a wobble on her mount, Biles was crisp and efficient as she moved along the 4-inch wide beam that's 4 feet in the air, landing her tricks with authority. Her routine is packed with difficulty, but it's deceptive because she connects so many of her elements together and does them seamlessly.
She scored a 14.3, lower than she did in qualifying but still the second-highest score of the night on the event.
Shilese Jones works to regain balance on beam
Shilese Jones had to work awfully hard to stay on the balance beam.
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Jones was off-center on the landing of her aerial series and had to lift her leg to restore her balance. But she didn't come off, and got through the rest of the routine without any significant issues. Her score of 13.6 was about 0.4 points lower than she got in qualifying.
Leanne Wong slips off beam
The U.S. women will have to count at least one fall in the team final.
Leanne Wong lost her footing on her side aerial, crashed hard into the beam and slipped off. She got back up and finished her routine, but also needed to take a large step back on her dismount. Her score of 11.7 was 1.666 points lower than she got in qualifying.
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U.S. women pass China for the lead with beam, floor to go
The U.S. women are halfway to a record seventh consecutive title.
The Americans used a strong rotation on uneven bars to pass China, and now have a 1.467 lead. The U.S. women are likely only to add to that. They have beam, where they posted the second-highest score in qualifying, and floor, one of their best events, still to come. China goes next on floor, where they were fifth in qualifying, and finishes on vault, where they had the 14th-highest total.
France has moved into third place while Britain is fourth.
Josc Roberson is officially out
USA Gymnastics has made it official: Josc Roberson won't compete in the team final. She'll be replaced on floor exercise by Leanne Wong, who also did vault in her place. USA Gymnastics didn't give an update on her injury, but Peacock showed her on crutches.
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Shilese Jones makes it look easy on bars
Shilese Jones showed why uneven bars is her signature event.
Jones makes bars look effortless, connecting elements and smoothly moving from high bar to low bar and back again. Her pirouettes are beautiful, and she took only a small step on her dismount. Her score, a 14.633, trails only China's Qiu Qiyuan, and should put the Americans into the lead at the halfway point.
Simone Biles is even better on bars than she was in qualifying
Simone Biles, uneven bars queen.
Biles scored a 14.466 on bars, her "weakest" event. That's 0.066 better than she did in qualifying, and is likely to be one of the best scores of the day on the event. Her routine was clean and she stuck her dismount without even the slightest wiggle.
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She was grinning as she left the podium, and appeared to say, "Woooh!" to coach Laurent Landi.
Skye Blakely solid on bars
Skye Blakely made her lone routine in the team final count.
Leadoff for the Americans on uneven bars, Blakely was solid, taking only a slight step backward with one foot on her dismount. She scored a 14.166.
Teams only put three gymnasts up on each of the four events, and uneven bars is the only one Blakely is scheduled to do in the team final.
Joscelyn Roberson on crutches
It appears Joscelyn Roberson's night is over.
NBC's broadcast briefly showed Roberson on crutches ahead of the start of the second rotation. She had been scheduled to compete in vault but sustained an injury in warmups. The only other event in which she was scheduled to compete Wednesday was floor exercise, the Americans' last rotation.
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U.S. women trail China after first rotation
Breathe.
The U.S. women are trailing China after the first rotation, having to make a last-minute swap in their vault lineup when Joscelyn Roberson was hurt during warm-ups. The gap is narrow, however, just 0.066 points, and China went on uneven bars, its best event.
China posted the highest scores on bars and balance beam in qualifying, but was fifth on floor exercise and 14th on vault. The Americans, meanwhile, had the highest scores on vault and floor and were second to China on bars and beam.
Brazil is third, more than 1.5 points back. Britain is fourth after Jessica Gadirova, their anchor, crashed on vault.
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Japan and the Netherlands also had to count falls in the first rotation.
Simone Biles gets big score on vault
Simone Biles delivered for the U.S. women.
Biles didn't do her Yurchenko double pike, which is now named for her, opting instead for the "easier" Cheng. It still has a 5.6 start value, second-highest after the Yurchenko double pike, guaranteeing a big score. Sure enough, Biles got a 14.8 even with a slight hop on the landing.
Leanne Wong replaces injured Roberson, lands solid vault
This is why you bring Leanne Wong to the world championships. She's the metronome of the U.S. team, as she just proved with a solid vault.
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Inserted into the lineup after Josc Roberson was injured during warm-ups, Wong scored a 14.066 for her Yurchenko double. She had a slight hop on the landing, but that was the only flaw.
Shilese Jones opens for U.S. on vault; Wong replaces Roberson
Shilese Jones gets the U.S. women started with a nice Yurchenko double vault. That's a roundoff onto the takeoff board, a back handspring onto the table and a somersault in a laid-out position with two twists. She took a slight hop back on the landing.
Jones scored a 14.1.
USA Gymnastics also announced that Leanne Wong will replace Josc Roberson in the vault lineup. Wong is likely to do a Yurchenko double, too.
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Joscelyn Roberson hurts ankle in warm-ups
Welp, this isn't the way the U.S. wanted to start its quest for a seventh consecutive world title.
Joscelyn Roberson appeared to jam her ankle during vault warm-ups. She could not put any weight on it and coach Laurent Landi had to carry her off the podium. Co-coach Cecile Landi then carried Roberson off the floor while Leanne Wong, who would go if Roberson can't, quickly went to warm up.
Roberson, making her worlds debut at 17, is to do vault and floor exercise in the team final.
Today's U.S. team leotard look
The U.S. women are wearing navy blue leotards with white-and-red ombre sleeves. There are sparkles on the front of the leotards.
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They'd previously worn pink leotards for podium training and turquoise for qualifying.
US women starting worlds with best event
Make sure you're paying attention from the start, because the first rotation is going to be key.
The U.S. women are starting on vault, their best event. Brazil and China are starting on uneven bars, which is the best event for both of those teams. If the Americans have a healthy lead after the rotation, it's going to be really hard for Brazil and China to chip away at it. But if the teams are close, it leaves the door open.
What is the format for the world gymnastics championships?
There are a couple of changes to the competition format for the team final.
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Countries only put up three gymnasts on each event and have to count all three scores, as opposed to using four gymnasts and dropping the lowest score in qualifying. They'll also alternate gymnasts with the other country on their event, Britain in the Americans' case Wednesday night.
On vault, for example, Shilese Jones will go first, followed by Britain's Online Achampong. Then it'll be Joscelyn Roberson, followed by Britain's Ruby Evans. Simone Biles will anchor the Americans, and Jessica Gadirova will do the same for Britain.
Will Simone Biles do the Yurchenko double pike again?
To be determined.
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Biles did the vault, so difficult few men even try it, during qualifying, meaning it will forever more be known as "the Biles" in the women's scoring system. Actually, it'll be known as the Biles II, since she's already got a vault named after her.
Or maybe it should be the Biles V, since it's the fifth skill named for her. She has two on floor and one on balance beam.
Landi said after qualifying they hadn't decided yet if Biles would do the vault again at this competition.
"People I hope realize that's maybe one of the last times you're going to see a vault like that in your life from a woman gymnast," Landi said. "So I think it's time to appreciate it."
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Team USA lineup
There are no surprises in the U.S. women's lineup, with the Americans putting up the gymnasts that posted the three highest scores in qualifying on each event.
Unlike qualifying, when teams get to drop their lowest score, every score counts in the team final.
So the Americans are going with, in order:
∎Jones, Roberson and Biles on vault
∎Skye Blakely, Biles and Jones on uneven bars
∎Leanne Wong, Jones and Biles on balance beam
∎Roberson, Jones and Biles on floor exercise
Who else is in team finals?
The other seven teams are: Britain, last year's silver medalists; China; Brazil; Italy; the Netherlands; France; and Japan.
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How can I watch?
The finals will be streamed on Peacock starting at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, and there will be a highlights show on CNBC on Oct. 8. The full schedule is here .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Simone Biles leads U.S. women's team to seventh straight world title
