Under the leadership of Simone Biles, the U.S. team secured their seventh consecutive gold medal at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
Even with a last-minute injury affecting one of their gymnasts, the American team, which included Biles, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely, and Leanne Wong, amassed a total of 167.729 points to narrowly outperform Brazil and France. The U.S. clinched victory by a 2.199-point margin, according to the Associated Press.
Since 2011, the U.S. women have consistently claimed gold in the team event at every world championship featuring a team competition, the AP states.
Their triumph in Antwerp not only surpassed the Chinese men but also solidified Biles' status as the most decorated female gymnast in history. The 26-year-old now has 26 world championship medals (20 of them gold) and seven Olympic medals.
In 2013, the 4'9" Biles became the first African American woman to win the all-around title at the world gymnastics championships, and in 2016 she was the first U.S. woman to win four Olympic golds and the first to claim three straight world all-around titles.
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