Aspire
Simone Biles made history in Doha tonight as the first woman to win four all-around world titles. Taking Gold at the 48th Artistic Gymnastic World Championships, despite the first falls of her career routines on beam and vault, the unstoppable American still won by a 1.693 margin.
Yet another final which left the crowd at the Aspire Dome in suspense until the final routine, the medal order was decided by the final three athletes on the floor – Mai Murakami (JPN), Morgan Hurd (USA) and Simone Biles (USA). The height Biles gained on her tumbles was too much for Murakami and Hurd to match, with Murakami (55.798) taking Silver and defending world champion Hurd finishing just 0.066 behind her to take Bronze (55.732).
Biles has now collected two golds at this World Championships in Doha. She will compete in all four apparatus finals over the weekend, which presents a further four gold medals and another record. If she succeeds in winning all apparatus finals, Biles will become the first woman since Yelena Shushunova of the Soviet Union in 1987 to win six golds at a World Championships.
Commenting on the win, Team USA’s Simone Biles said: “This one has probably been the hardest to get out of all my World Championships and Olympic medals, and the scariest one. It’s exciting to bring back a gold medal for the USA, but for me it’s a bit disappointing because that’s not the performance I would hope to give.”
“It was a tough day. I didn’t know if I was going to pull it off today, and then I started doubting myself and I tried to track back to training and see how well that went. I tried to just think of that. You should always fall back on training because I’ve had such good training here. I think I gave everyone out there a heart attack!”
Doha 2018 has seen more twists and turns than the average world championships, with three of the four finals held so far being decided on the final rotation. Do not miss out a weekend filled with action and anticipation. 10 more remain, as Men’s & Women’s Apparatus finals are still to be held under Aspire Dome Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd November from 16:00.
Tickets are still available for an unmissable event on Qatar and the world’s sporting calendar at worldgymdoha18.com or on the door at Aspire Dome. To learn more please follow @DohaGym2018 across social media.