Simone Biles wins 22nd world championship gold medal as she finishes first in the women’s beam

Simone Biles won her 22nd world championship gold medal on Sunday, finishing first in the beam competition at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.

After a disappointing day by her lofty standards on Saturday – winning silver in the vault and finishing fifth in the uneven bars – the 26-year-old bounced back in emphatic fashion to win her third gold medal of this year’s world championships.

The US gymnast recorded a 14.800 in her attempt, finishing 0.100 ahead of China’s Zhou Yaqin in second place.

Biles will go for one final world championships medal later on Sunday in the floor competition, an apparatus she is heavily favored to win.

It’s been a week to remember for Biles, who is making her return to the top-tier of competitive gymnastics following a two-year hiatus after suffering from the “twisties” – a mental block causing a gymnast to lose track of their position in midair – during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Gold medals in the women’s team and all-around competitions began a productive few days of action, the latter of which – her sixth all-around world title – made her the most decorated female or male gymnast ever.

Saturday’s action for Biles didn’t live up to her high standards though. She earned a silver in the vault after falling upon trying to land her first vault, the eponymous Biles II, also known as the Yurchenko double pike, and then fifth in the uneven bars, the apparatus in which she has been least successful in over the years.

However, she was back to her winning ways on Sunday, performing with her usual assuredness and poise.

Her routine on the beam on Sunday included all the requirements needed by the judges, all performed with the perfection you come to expect from a Biles display.

Zhou did run Biles close with her own performance, but the 17-year-old’s execution was adjudged to be 0.1 points lower than Biles’; a fine margin between first and second position.

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, fresh off of world championship gold in the vault on Saturday, earned bronze medal with the final performance of the round.