10/24/2026 12:40:00
Printable Page
10/24 12:39 CDT Newly minted all-around champ Skye Blakely adds two more medals
at world gymnastics championships
Newly minted all-around champ Skye Blakely adds two more medals at world
gymnastics championships
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) --- Newly minted all-around champion Skye Blakely
added to her medal haul at the world gymnastics championships, earning bronze
on vault and uneven bars during the event finals on Saturday.
The 21-year-old from Dallas, who soared to gold in the all-around on Friday
after recovering from injuries that wrecked her Olympic hopes in 2021 and again
in 2024, hardly looked tired in what has quickly become the meet of her life.
Blakely averaged a score of 14.166 on her pair of vaults to share the podium
with gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and American teammate Claire Pease.
Andrade, the Olympic champion on vault and the Olympic silver medalist in the
all-around in Paris behind Simone Biles, edged Pease for gold. The 27-year-old
Andrade, who is competing as an event specialist at the moment while eyeing a
run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, averaged 14.666, a bit ahead of Pease at
14.233.
Kaylia Nemour of Algeria recovered from a misstep on vault in the all-around
finals on Friday that cost her a medal to easily defend her gold on uneven
bars. Nemour's intricate and technically demanding routine --- perhaps the
hardest currently being done by any gymnast, male or female, in any event ---
earned her a 15.333, the highest score of the day.
Helen Kervic of Germany captured the silver at 14.833, with Blakely in third at
14.600.
Blakely, who joined Olympic champions Biles and Nastia Liukin as well as
Rebecca Bross as the only American women to win at least four medals at a
single worlds, will have a chance to add to her medal total on Sunday when she
competes in the beam final.
American Fred Richard helped the U.S. men's team earn a bit of redemption after
a shaky sixth-place finish in the team final by edging Jake Jarman of Britain
for gold in the floor exercise. The 22-year-old Richard, who has spent the last
several years trying to raise the profile of the men's side of the sport
through social media, posted a 14.633 to give the Americans their third
individual gold at worlds in the last two years.
Richard said after competing in the NCAA championships for Michigan last spring
that he would have a gold medal of some variety around his neck at worlds. A
performance that showcased his maturity made it come true.
"It's OK to manifest," Richard said. "It's OK to talk big and believe in
yourself. Put in the work every day. As long as that is true, that you're
actually putting in the work, it can happen, and it does happen."
Jarman, who came in as the defending champion on the event, put together a more
difficult routine but was nicked by judges for his execution. His 14.600 wasn't
quite enough to knock Richard off the top of the podium.
Carlos Yulo, the reigning Olympic champion on floor, sat during his second
tumbling pass and finished eighth in the eight-man final. Arsenii Dukhno of
Russia, who topped qualifying, went out of bounds after overcooking a tumbling
sequence and wound up sixth.
In other events Saturday, Hamlet Manukyan of Armenia edged Gabriele Targhetta
of Italy for gold in a tight pommel horse final. Manukyan's score of 15.300 was
just ahead of Targhetta at 15.233. Manukyan's Armenian teammate Mamikon
Khachatryan won the bronze at 15.000.
Lan Xingyu of China returned to the top of the podium in still rings. The
28-year-old's score of 14.766 was more than enough to earn him a second world
gold in the event to go with the one he captured in 2021. Eleftherios
Petrounias of Greece took silver for his sixth world medal in his specialty.
Artur Avetisyan captured the bronze.
The world championships wrap up on Sunday with the finals in men's high bar,
parallel bars and vault and women's balance beam and floor exercise.
___
See AP's full sports coverage here
|
