DOHA: Simone Biles will take back a lot of memories from Doha and the best among them is that she will return home as the most decorated gymnast of all times at the World Championships.
A day after clinching a record 4th all-around title, the American superstar won her 13th world gold medal with a maiden vault title on first day of apparatus finals at the 48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, yesterday.
But the penultimate day at Doha Worlds was not just about Biles as reigning men’s all-around champion Artur Dalaloyan, Xiao Ruoteng, Nina Derwael and Eleftherios Petrounias also displayed dazzling performances to wow fans at packed Aspire Dome.
President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani and President Olympic Council of Asia, Sheikh Ahmed Al Fahad, along with top officials from World and Asian gymnastics federations also watched yesterday’s proceedings.
Maiden vault title for Biles
Unlike on Thursday when she fell twice in women’s all-around final, Biles did not make any mistake in her first of two finals, marking 15.366 points from two vaults to overcome Canada’s Shallon Olsen, who scored 14.516 points for a silver medal.
The vault title gave Biles her third gold medal in Doha, taking her overall tally to 13 world gold medals that surpassed Belarusian male gymnast Vitaly Scherbo’s feat of 12 titles.
“I wanted to redeem myself (after mistakes on Thursday) and I am happy I managed to that,” Biles said after her third world title in Doha.
She was also delighted for her new record of 13 world titles.
“I am very excited and happy with my performance so far. One more day of competition and I am looking forward to it,” she added.
Mexico’s Alexa Moreno took bronze medal with 14.508 points while Uzbekistan legend Oksana Chusovitina, 43, finished fourth, missing a medal by 0.208 points.
Derwael outsmarts Biles in uneven bars
Belgium sensation Derwael, who has been impressive throughout the Doha event, finally clinched her maiden world gold medal when she won the women’s uneven bar final.
She amassed 15.200 points, 0.500 ahead of second-placed Biles with Germany’s Elisabeth Seitz finishing third with 14.600 points.
“It was one of my best routines that I’ve done here so far. I slightly over-rotated my full turn before my dismount, but my dismount was great, so I’m very, very happy with my performance,” Derwael said.
“I felt a lot of stress before mounting the bars, but once I got into my rhythm, I could feel, ‘Yeah, it’s going great,’ and continued like that. Then, when I stuck my landing, it was just a relief,” she added.
Biles, however, also achieved another record by winning an uneven bar silver as she became the only American to earn world medals in every event.
“It’s good to get a medal, because I’m feeling pretty confident on that event, and that’s the first time in a while that I’ve felt really comfortable,” Biles said.
Artur Dalaloyan of Russia celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal in the floor exercise yesterday. PICTURE: SYED OMAR
Dalaloyan new world floor champion
After winning the men’s all-around title on a tie-breaker on Thursday, Russian ace Dalaloyan sealed his second gold in Doha after dethroning Japan’s defending champion Kenzo Shirai in the floor final.
Dalaloyan’s performance was a treat to watch with his beautiful double-double and superb twists giving him 14.900 points which lent him a gold medal. Shirai finished close with 14.866 points to earn a silver medal.
“Today I tried an experiment. I was sitting and didn’t train before my performance. I prepared myself mentally. I focused, came out and performed. I just did my thing,” said the Russian gymnast.
“There is still room for achievement. It’s good that I still have room to improve. There is no limit for perfection.”
Carlos Yulo, 18, made history in the event by winning first world medal for Philippines after bagging 14.600 points for a bronze medal.
Roteng second time lucky
China’s Ruoteng, who missed all-around title on a tie-breaker against Dalaloyan, was second time lucky after his score in men’s pommel horse final was tied again with Great Britain’s defending champion Max Whitlock.
The Chinese star was awarded gold on better execution points after both the gymnasts tallied 15.166 points each.
“Max is a superstar, but he made some little mistakes, so I think I was a little better than he. Apparently the judges preferred my performance. It’s my honour that the judges admired it,” said Ruoteng.
Lee Chih-Kai of Chinese Taipei also made history by winning a bronze medal – the first ever medal for his country – after collecting 14.966 points.
Petrounias maintains rings domination
In what was the last apparatus final yesterday, Greece’s Petrounias continued his domination in rings despite a looming shoulder injury.
As expected, he outsmarted his opponents in the final and tallied 15.366 points for third consecutive world gold medal. Brazil’s Arthur Zanetti (15.100) and Italy’s Marco Lodadio (14.900) grabbed silver and bronze medal.
The 10-day event will conclude today with 5 more apparatus finals scheduled on the final day.
Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com