Skye Blakely wins gymnastics world all-around title two years after rupturing her Achilles

Skye Blakely wrapped herself in an American flag, tears streaming, after the scoreboard confirmed what two years of painful rehabilitation had been building toward: a world all-around gymnastics title. The 21-year-old from Dallas scored 55.733 points across four apparatus at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam on Friday, beating Russia's Liudmila Roshchina (55.199) and China's Ke Qinqin (55.032) to claim the biggest individual prize in the sport outside the Olympics.

The result also keeps alive an American run of podium appearances at every Olympics and world championships dating to 2003, with Blakely becoming the first US world all-around champion since Simone Biles took the title in 2023.

Throughout the meet, I was telling myself 'Do it for the girl in 2021 and the girl in 2024 who couldn't do everything, just fight for her.' That's what I kept telling myself: 'I am capable, I am ready' and I made every version of myself extremely proud.— Skye Blakely, US gymnast

The emotional weight behind those words is considerable. Blakely has now been denied an Olympic berth twice by injury. A torn elbow ligament during warm-ups for the Tokyo Olympic trials cost her a shot in 2021. Her Paris hopes ended just as painfully: with only two days remaining before the US trials for the 2024 Games, her right Achilles tendon gave way in floor exercise training, cutting short a season in which she had placed second to Biles at the national championships. Surgery followed, and Paris went on without her.

I already cried, but it just means the world to me. Knowing how much I've been through – two major surgeries, a lot of hardships, ups and downs.— Skye Blakely, US gymnast

Blakely, a junior at the University of Florida, entered Friday's final at the Rotterdam Ahoy arena as the second-ranked qualifier. Her performances on uneven bars and balance beam were composed and controlled, and she held her lead through floor exercise. A score of 14.200 on beam — the apparatus that had troubled the Americans during their silver-medal finish behind China in Wednesday's team competition — put her well clear of the field going into the last rotation.

Top qualifier Kaylia Nemour of Algeria dropped to fourth place after an error on her opening vault left her with no choice but to switch to a lower-difficulty skill. A strong showing on uneven bars brought her back into contention, yet she fell short of the bronze medal by a margin of just 0.034 points. Claire Pease, the other American in the final, ended up seventh following a fall on balance beam.

It truly means the world to me, knowing how much I have overcome, all of the hardship that I faced and the days that I wanted to give up or didn't think it was possible. To see it really come to be tonight, is just, it makes me so proud of myself and makes me reflect on little me who would dream of this.— Skye Blakely, US gymnast

The championships continue with apparatus finals. Saturday's schedule has Blakely and Pease in action in the women's vault and uneven bars finals, with Fred Richard set to compete in the men's floor exercise final and Patrick Hoopes in the pommel horse final. Apparatus finals are live on Peacock and NBCSN.

Why it matters — Blakely's title — won after two surgeries that each cost her an Olympic berth — is the first world all-around gold for a US woman in three years and the first ever claimed by a collegiate gymnast in the same calendar year.

Reported by theguardian.com, sports.yahoo.com, nbcsports.com, usatoday.com, floridagators.com