ALL-ROUND CHAMP: Blakely returned to the sport to take the all-around title and two more medals after recovering from injuries which ruined her Olympic hopes
AP, ROTTERDAM, Netherlands
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 US teammate Claire Pease.
Skye Blakely of the US competes in the vault during the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Saturday.
Photo: AP
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.
American Fred Richard helped the US 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 US 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 was not 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 on 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 wrapped up yesterday with the finals in men’s high bar, parallel bars and vault and women’s balance beam and floor exercise.