It's Official: Simone Biles Is the Most Decorated Gymnast in World Championship History
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With a dominant performance at the 2019 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, American gymnast Simone Biles has won an impressive 25 medals at worlds, 19 of which are gold, making her the most decorated gymnast of all time.
Simone first claimed a share of the women's record in 2018, when she matched Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina with 20 world medals and surpassed her with a record 14 golds. She quickly widened that margin at the 2019 championships, with a win in the team event. She then took home medals in the all-around and on the vault, tying Belarusian gymnast Vitaly Scherbo for the all-time record with 23 medals at the world championships. She broke that mark on the final day of the competition, when she topped the podium in the balance beam and the floor exercise events, bringing her career total to 25.
Since her senior debut in 2013, Simone has won at least one medal in each of the five individual events at the world championships (balance beam, vault, uneven bars, floor exercise, and all-around), in addition to winning the team event. If you're still struggling to wrap your mind around that (same), keep reading for an event-by-event breakdown.
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How Many World Championship Medals Has Simone Biles Won on the Vault?
Simone isn't undefeated on the vault, but the Olympic champion has still racked up an impressive tally of medals. She's got two gold medals (2018 and 2019), two silvers (2013 and 2014), and one bronze (2015). That's five medals, one from every championship she's entered since her career began.
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How Many World Championship Medals Has Simone Biles Won in the Floor Exercise?
Simone has won five gold medals in the individual floor exercise event. She won her first medal in 2013 and her most recent in 2019. There were no world championships in 2016 because of the Olympic Games, and Simone took a year off from competition in 2017; in that sense, she's undefeated.
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How Many World Championship Medals Has Simone Biles Won on the Uneven Bars?
The uneven bars are Simone's weakest apparatus, with only one medal — a silver in 2018 — at the world championships so far. It's also the only event for which she doesn't have an Olympic medal.
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How Many World Championship Medals Has Simone Biles Won on the Balance Beam?
Simone has taken home five individual medals on the balance beam: three golds (2014, 2015, and 2019) and two bronzes (2013 and 2018).
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How Many World Championship Medals Has Simone Biles Won in the All-Around?
Simone has won five all-around medals at the world championships (one for every year she's competed), and all of them are gold. That's the most of any female gymnast in history.