American teenager Simone Biles retains world all-around crown
Defending champion, 17, fights off late challenge from Romanian Larisa Andreea Iordache to keep her title
American Simone Biles retained her world women’s all-around gymnastics title on Friday, fighting off a late challenge from Romania’s Larisa Andreea Iordache.
The 17-year-old Biles finished the four-apparatus final at 60.231 points, 0.466 better than Iordache at 59.765.
Fellow American Kyla Ross, the last year runner-up to Biles, finished third at 58.232 in the final at the 4,000-seat Guangxi Gymnasium in Nanning, China.
It means the world to me. It’s one of my favourite things to do is compete for a crowd. It’s just really fun for me
Biles had a capacity crowd behind her as they roared each time she made four dynamic tumbling passes on the floor in her final rotation to beat the Romanian.
“It means the world to me,” Biles said of the excitement she gets from each competition. “It’s one of my favourite things to do is compete for a crowd. It’s just really fun for me.”
The 1.45 metre gymnast admitted she was not immune to the pressure of being a defending champion. She won back-to-back US championships this year.
“Pressure from other people, but then I don’t take it, so it’s okay. But there’s a little bit.”