United States silence China to retain world title
Simone Biles, 17, led the way, competing in three of the four events, topping the table on vault and floor exercise, while her team dominated all but the balance beam
Simone Biles led the United States to win a second straight women's team title at the world gymnastics championships last night as she geared up for her defence of the individual all-around crown.
The 2012 Olympic champions collected 179.280 points through four apparatus events with hosts China, the 2006 world champions, second at 172.587 and Russia third at 171.462.
Romania finished fourth at 170.963 as a near capacity crowd roared on the home team at the 4,000-seat Guangxi Gymnasium in Nanning, the day after China grabbed a record sixth straight men's world team title.
We just thought of going out there and having fun and hitting all our routines
The 17-year-old Biles competed in three of the four events, topping the table on vault and floor exercise, while her team dominated all but the balance beam.
Biles said her team of six teenagers aged 16 and 17 had never thought of getting anything less than gold.
"We just thought of going out there and having fun and hitting all our routines," she said, "because we don't really watch the other competition."
The last world team competition was held in 2011, but it was not staged in the 2012 Olympic year and last year in accordance with the International Gymnastics Federation's calendar.