Simone Biles stars as US women win record 7th straight world gymnastics team title

ANTWERP, Belgium — Call it a magnificent seven for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.

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Led by Simone Biles, the U.S. women won a record seventh consecutive team title at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships on Wednesday, edging Brazil and France for the top spot.

Biles, Shilese Jones, Leanne Wong, Skye Blakely and Joscelyn Roberson combined for a total of 167.729 points to take the top spot, according to The Athletic.

Biles continued to add to her medal count as she captured her 26th world medal, NBC News reported.

Twenty of Biles’ world medals are gold, and she also owns seven Olympic medals, according to The Athletic. Her 33 combined medals pushed her one medal ahead of the Soviet Union’s Larisa Latynina to make her the most decorated female gymnast in the sport’s history, the sports news outlet reported. Biles also won Olympic gold at the 2016 Games.

The U.S. squad’s margin of victory was 2.199 points, according to The Associated Press. The U.S. women are the only team -- male or female -- to win seven straight world team gold medals, The Athletic reported.

Brazil, led by Rebeca Andrade, secured its first team medal in the event by winning silver, according to The Athletic. France took third to capture its first medal of any kind at a women’s championships event since 1950.

Since 2011, the U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship that included a team competition, according to the AP. The team’s seventh straight crown broke a tie with China’s men’s team for the longest streak of consecutive team titles, the news organization reported.