All-conquering American gymnast Simone Biles won her fifth gold, her second of the day, at the world championships on Sunday in the women’s floor final to extend her own all-time record to 25 worlds medals.
Having earlier won the beam final, the 22-year-old also extended her own record of 19 world championships golds after success earlier this week in Stuttgart in the team, all-round and vault events with the USA.
Biles was crowned world floor champion for the fifth time in her career after winning the final by a full point from team-mate Sunisa Lee, who earned silver with Russia’s Angelina Melnikova taking bronze.
Her double gold success came within a two-hour spell after earlier winning the beam final with China’s Liu Tingting, 19, taking silver with 16-year-old team-mate Li Shijia in bronze place.
Her victories on the beam and floor make Biles the most decorated gymnast in history, surpassing the previous all-time record of 23 world medals won by men’s star Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus in the 1990s.
This is the first time Biles has finished a world championships with five gold medals having said she is “99 percent” sure Stuttgart will be the fifth and final world of her career.
The only blot on Biles’ near-perfect record in south-west Germany came in Saturday’s uneven bars final when she finished fifth.
AFP
