Simone Biles wins 6th worlds all-around, sets medals mark - ESPN

ANTWERP, Belgium — After a two-year absence and less than three months into her return to competition, Simone Biles is back at the top of world gymnastics once again.

The American superstar won the individual all-around title at the world championships for the sixth time Friday to become the most decorated gymnast in history.

Ten years after she won her first in the same Belgian city as a 16-year-old, Biles scored 58.399 points across the balance beam, floor, vault and uneven bars to beat Rebeca Andrade, the Brazilian defending champion, by 1.633 points.

Biles' U.S. teammate Shilese Jones took the bronze medal, with 56.332 points.

It was Biles' 27th world championship medal — and 21st gold. It came two days after the four-time Olympic gold medalist led the U.S women to a record seventh straight win in the team event.

Biles now has 34 medals across the world championships and Olympics, making her the most decorated gymnast ever — male or female — at the sport's two signature events ahead of the retired Vitaly Scherbo.

Biles' only blip came right at the end, as she was about to wrap up her floor routine. After a near-flawless display, she tripped near the end of her routine as she was about to enter a sequence of leaps. But she recovered in style, and it didn't cost her enough of a points deduction to rob her of the gold.

«I know my parents had a heart attack,» Biles told her coach.

With the Olympics Games in Paris less than a year away, Biles is back to her very best. And despite the fierce competition from Andrade and Jones, she remains a cut above the rest — a full decade after she started her reign.

Biles has been dominant ever since returning following a two-year break after her appearance in the pandemic-delayed