Americans Claire Pease, Reese Esponda finish 1-2 in floor exercise at gymnastics worlds

Claire Pease and Reese Esponda gave the Americans a golden sendoff at the world gymnastics championships, going one-two in the floor exercise on Sunday, the final day of competition in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The two 17-year-olds boosted the U.S. women's team medal haul to seven by putting together a pair of dazzling routines that topped the eight-woman final.

Pease, who earned silver on vault Saturday, captured her third medal of the meet by posting a score of 13.866 behind the strength of some of the most difficult tumbling passes being done in the world at the moment.

The performance served as an exclamation point for Pease, who hit all four of her routines during the team final, when the U.S. finished a close second to resurgent China.

Esponda, who works out of World Champions Centre in Houston, the home gym of two-time Olympic champion Simone Biles, captured silver with a 13.566, then had Biles — who is still undecided about making a run at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles — drape the medal over her neck during the awards ceremony. Maiana Prat of France won the bronze.

Canada's Lia Grace Redick (13.300) and Lia-Monica Fontaine (13.200) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Artistic Gymnastics World Championships: Individual apparatus finals day 2

Pease and Esponda's teammate Skye Blakely, who won the all-around on Friday and on Saturday became the fourth American woman to capture four medals at a single world championships, finished sixth behind Algerian star Kaylia Nemour in the beam finals.

The 21-year-old Blakely, perhaps a little gassed at the end of a week-plus of competition, avoided any major miscues but wasn't crisp enough to earn a spot on the medal stand for the fifth time in five days.

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