World Gymnastics Championships 2015: Results and Reaction from Final Day
The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships wrapped up Sunday with the second and last session of the men's and women's apparatus finals.
Among the world-class athletes in action at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, Simone Biles stood out the most. The 18-year-old American phenom made some serious history Sunday, per the International Gymnastics Federation:
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Biles took home her third consecutive world championship and added to her massive medal haul by claiming the gold in balance beam and floor exercise. Margaret Nichols joined Biles on the podium in the latter event with a score of 15.000 to secure the bronze.
Here is a glance at the medalists for each of Sunday's five finals:
| Men's Vault | Se Gwang Ri (D.P.R. Korea, 15.450) | Marian Dragulescu (Romania, 15.400) | Donnell Whittenburg (USA, 15.350) |
| Women's Balance Beam | Simone Biles (USA, 15.358) | Sanne Wevers (Netherlands, 14.333) | Pauline Schaefer (Germany, 14.133) |
| Men's Parallel Bars | Hao You (China, 16.216) | Oleg Verniaiev (Ukraine, 16.066) | Oleg Stepko (Azerbaijan) and Shudi Deng (China) 15.966 |
| Women's Floor Exercise | Simone Biles (USA, 15.800) | Knesiia Afanaseva (Russia, 15.100) | Margaret Nichols (USA, 15.000) |
| Men's Horizontal Bar | Kohei Uchimura (Japan, 15.833) | Danell Leyva (USA, 15.700) | Manrique Larduet (Cuba, 15.600) |
Before Biles' second gold and a magnificent conclusion that will be gotten to shortly, though, there was an underdog story of sorts to appreciate, much to the delight of fans from Romania.
Not that expectations should have been lowered for a four-time vault gold medalist in Marian Dragulescu, but one could hardly expect the 34-year-old to come out of retirement and have a legitimate chance at the top prize (h/t NBCSports.com's Nick Zaccardi).
No one should have underestimated him, as Dragulescu almost pulled off an improbable return to World Championship gold. Only the defending title bearer, Ri Se Gwang of Korea, could thwart Dragulescu's bid at tying the record of a fifth gold medal in one discipline.
After that opener, Biles proceeded to dust the competition in the women's balance beam, followed by Hao You capturing gold in the men's parallel bars and Biles' aforementioned triumph on the floor routine.
Rachel Axon of USA Today was among those enthralled with Biles' sensational performance:
Closing out Sunday's action in style was Japan's Kohei Uchimura, who took the men's gold on the horizontal bars. The following image is a testament to Uchimura's consistent domination of what's supposed to be a global competition:
Someone must have forgotten to tell Uchimura, because he seems to be in his own world when it comes to gymnastics.
USA Today's Nancy Armour described the moment of slight suspense during Uchimura's victorious run, as his degree of difficulty (7.1) was also less than the man who finished just behind him (7.3):
Danell Leyva represented the United States well in securing silver in the high bars but acknowledged that Uchimura—and Biles, for that matter—has an extra gear with which he is unfamiliar.
"I think they're from the same planet. They're definitely not from here," said Leyva, per gymnastics author Dvora Meyers.
Infostrada Sports provided further context for the epic achievements seized by both Uchimura and Biles as of Sunday in Glasgow:
Looking ahead to the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this next year, Biles and Uchimera are clearly the top gymnasts to watch.
Biles may well emerge from Rio as the next breakout superstar on the international stage and has already had an incredibly accomplished senior career under her belt to date. Meanwhile, Uchimura has a chance to really distinguish himself among the all-time greats.
Already with six consecutive world titles to his name, the Rio Games are just another chance for the 26-year-old to show his legendary skills. Should he reign supreme next summer to the degree he has in the World Championships, it may not be outrageous to consider Uchimera the best to ever do it.
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