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Simone Biles continued to make history at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, winning the women’s individual all-around final on Friday to secure her 21st world championship gold medal.
The 26-year-old American put on another near-perfect display in Antwerp, Belgium, to win her sixth all-around title at world championships, as she finished ahead of Rebeca Andrade in second place and Shilese Jones in third.
Biles flashed big smiles and hugs with teammates and coaches when her final, winning score was revealed.
She then wiped away tears from her eyes while the US national anthem played.
“I was emotional because it was my first worlds here 10 years ago and now my sixth one, so it is crazy, but I swear I do have something in my eye that’s been bothering me for like four hours and I cannot get it out,” Biles told reporters. “So while I was looking up there, it was like a combination of both.”
By winning gold, she also became the most decorated female or male gymnast ever, surpassing Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record of 33 overall medals across both the Olympics and the world championships.
Biles has already won one gold medal at the 2023 world championships, playing a starring role in the US women’s team gold in the team final on Wednesday, and has an opportunity to win four more.
She is set to compete in the women’s vault and uneven bars finals on Saturday, before the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Sunday.
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Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the individual all-around at the Paris Olympics in August 2024. She won gold.
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Biles talks with her grandfather, Ron, as she trains in Houston in August 2013. Biles grew up in Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston.
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Biles competes on the balance beam during the US National Gymnastics Championships in August 2013. She won gold in the individual all-around.
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Biles dodges a bee flying near her during the medal ceremony at the 2014 World Championships. She successfully defended her title in the individual all-around.
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Biles, left, poses at home with her grandparents Ron and Nellie, who adopted her and her younger sister Adria, right.
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Biles practices in Houston in January 2016.
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Biles, right, and fellow gymnast Gabby Douglas stand during the opening ceremony of the 2016 US Olympic Trials. Both made the team. Douglas was the Olympic all-around champion in 2012.
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Biles celebrates with her teammates after the US Olympic Trials in 2016.
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Biles competes on the balance beam at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She won gold in the individual all-around and the team all-around. She also added two more golds and a bronze.
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Biles competes on the uneven bars at the 2016 Olympics.
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From left, US gymnasts Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas celebrate after winning gold in the team all-around at the 2016 Olympics.
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Biles celebrates with the gold medal she earned for her individual all-around title at the 2016 Olympics.
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Biles has her legs held by host Jimmy Fallon as she plays a game called Hungry Hungry Humans on "The Tonight Show" in August 2016. Also playing were actor Donald Glover and some of Biles' teammates.
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Biles poses with swimming legend Michael Phelps, Raisman and actress Olivia Munn during a recording of the show "Lip Sync Battle: All Stars Live" in September 2016.
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First lady Michelle Obama rests her elbow on Biles' head as President Barack Obama speaks at the White House in September 2016. The Obamas were hosting an event for US Olympians.
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Biles takes a photo with a young fan in Houston in September 2016.
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Biles competes in "Dancing with the Stars" with Sasha Farber in 2017. They would finish in fourth place.
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Biles speaks after receiving the ESPY Award for best female athlete in 2017.
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Biles performs with the Houston Texans cheerleaders in December 2017.
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Biles competes on the uneven bars during the 2018 World Championships. She won gold in the individual all-around.
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Biles soars through the air while competing on the uneven bars at the World Championships in 2019. Again, she won gold in the individual all-around.
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Biles competes in the floor exercise during the World Championships in 2019.
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Biles celebrates after winning the balance beam final at the 2019 World Championships.
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Biles lands awkwardly while competing in the team all-around at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. Biles stumbled on the vault landing and then
pulled out of the competition over mental-health concerns.
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Biles is congratulated by coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi after they realized Biles
would win an Olympic bronze medal in the balance beam final in July 2021. Biles had pulled out of several events earlier in Tokyo, citing mental health concerns. Specifically, she said she had "the twisties," a mental block in gymnastics in which competitors lose track of their positioning midair. Her bronze medal tied her with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals ever won by an American gymnast.
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From left, Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols and Aly Raisman are sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2021. They
sharply criticized how FBI agents handled the sexual abuse allegations against Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor now serving a long prison sentence.
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President Joe Biden awards Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in July 2022. Biles, 25, became
the youngest person ever to receive the award. "When she stands on the podium,we see what she is: absolute courage to turn personal pain into a greater purpose, to stand and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves," Biden said.
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Biles appears on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in September 2022. On the right is US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
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Biles competes in the uneven bars at the
Core Hydration Classic in August 2023. It was her first competitive event since 2021, and she won the all-around.
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Biles celebrates after winning a record
eighth national all-around title at the US Gymnastics Championships in August 2023. The 26-year-old also became the oldest woman to ever win the championships.
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Biles celebrates after winning the individual all-around at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October 2023.
By winning gold, she became the most decorated female or male gymnast ever, surpassing Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo's record of 33 overall medals across both the Olympics and the world championships.
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Biles celebrates as the 2024 Olympic team was named in June.
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Biles competes on the balance beam during the team competition at the Paris Olympics in July 2024.
The Americans won gold for Biles' eighth Olympic medal.
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Team USA celebrates as Biles finishes her floor exercise in the Olympic team competition.
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Biles competes in the individual vault final in August 2024. She took home the gold, her
10th Olympic medal.
Amazing tumbles and a stumble
Biles, who has five moves in the sport named after her such is her ability to push the boundaries, began the all-around final on the vault, delivering an impressive display which was graded 15.1, 5.6 for difficulty and 9.5 for execution.
She kept up the pressure on her rivals with 14.333 on the uneven bars and then 14.433 on the beam.
Andrade produced a superb final floor routine, but Biles’ riposte was elegant, precise and explosive that drew gasps from the crowd for her tumbling and despite a small stumble, ensured the American took gold.
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Biles competes in the vault during the women's all-round final.
The surprise of the unforced error wasn’t lost on Biles as a slight look of shock appeared on her face, before a beaming smile returned.
Biles finished with a total score of 58.399 over her four apparatus, 1.633 ahead of Andrade’s 56.766 points.
Already the most decorated gymnast in US history, Biles has now won 27 world championship medals – 21 gold, three silver and three bronze.
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Biles competes on the beam during the women's all-round final.
Having spent two years away from the sport after pulling out of several events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games suffering from what is known as the “twisties” – a mental block causing a gymnast to lose track of their position in midair – what Biles has achieved in Antwerp is remarkable.
By competing in Belgium, Biles became the first woman to represent the US at six artistic world gymnastics championships.
She made history on the opening day when she finished first in the women’s all-around qualification, becoming the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault – a high-difficulty skill historically only done by men – at an international competition.
On Wednesday, Biles then produced a brilliant floor routine to help the US win a seventh consecutive gold medal in the women’s team final.
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Biles cries on the podium after wining the gold medal at the women's all-round final.
Former US gymnast Dominique Dawes told CNN This Morning on Thursday that what Biles is achieving in Belgium is “spectacular.”
“What she’s doing, I am in complete awe of. My kids are huge fans of Simone Biles and what I love is that she’s enjoying this journey,” said Dawes.
“She’s smiling along the way. She’s an amazing teammate, and she’s going to leave a lasting impact.”