Simone Biles leads U.S. women to record 7th straight team title at gymnastics worlds

Led by Simone Biles, the U.S. women won a record seventh consecutive team title at the FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championships on Wednesday night in Antwerp, Belgium.

The American team of Biles, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Leanne Wong combined for a total of 167.729 points to edge Brazil and France.

The U.S. team won by a margin of 2.199 points as the final proved to be a closer contest than anticipated after the Americans put up a dominant performance in qualifying.

The U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship that included a team competition since 2011. Their victory in Antwerp broke a tie with the Chinese men for the longest streak of consecutive team titles and made Biles the most decorated female gymnast in history.

WATCH | Full coverage of women's team final:

Canada failed to reach the final after finishing 12th in qualifying with 157.229 points, but it already secured a team quota spot for Paris 2024 at last year's worlds.

Biles now has 26 world championship medals, 20 of them gold, to go with her seven Olympic medals, including the 2016 Olympic title. Her 33 combined medals at the sport's two biggest events are one more than what Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union achieved.

The U.S team overcame an early scare as Joscelyn Roberson was forced out of the event even before it started after she seemed to hurt an ankle while warming up at the vault. She was helped off the mat and subbed by Wong.

The Americans amassed 42.966 points and were second behind China after the first rotation following the Chinese gymnasts' excellent display on uneven bars.

Biles and her teammates then bested their Chinese opponents' performance on bars as they took the overall lead with a margin of