ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Skye Blakely won the women’s all-around world title on Friday, completing a long-awaited breakthrough after injuries derailed her last two Olympic bids.
The 21-year-old American scored 55.733 across four apparatus at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, finishing ahead of Russia’s Liudmila Roshchina (55.199) and China’s Ke Qinqin (55.032).
It was Blakely’s first individual world title after winning team titles in 2022 and 2023. She entered Friday’s final as the second-highest qualifier, having scored 55.465 points to finish behind Algeria’s Olympic uneven-bars champion Kaylia Nemour.
Nemour, though, suffered an early setback after scoring just 12.366 on vault before recovering with 14.866 on uneven bars and 14.500 on the beam, both the best scores of the day. She finished in fourth, 0.034 off the podium.
Blakely has been a big name on the U.S. scene for years but had never claimed an individual world medal before Friday and has faced a rough stretch of injury luck at the worst times. The American suffered a torn ligament in her left elbow while warming up for vault at the Tokyo Olympic trials in 2021, requiring surgery and several months of recovery.
Three years later, she appeared poised to make the Paris team before rupturing her right Achilles tendon during floor exercise training in Minneapolis, just two days before the 2024 trials. The injury required further surgery and ended her season.
She returned to elite competition while also representing the University of Florida in collegiate gymnastics, and her individual breakthrough comes after the United States finished second behind China in Wednesday’s women’s team final, ending the Americans’ run of seven consecutive world team titles.
Blakely was part of a young American squad featuring three gymnasts making their senior world championship debuts. Simone Biles has not competed since Paris 2024, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles are targeting a return to competition in 2027, and Paris Olympic gold medallist Hezly Rivera withdrew from the Rotterdam championships with an ankle injury.
The victory strengthens Blakely’s position heading towards the Los Angeles 2028 Games, where she will hope to make her Olympic debut.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics
2026 The Athletic Media Company