Skye Blakely Wins World All-Around Gold In Rotterdam

No title is perhaps more coveted than the women’s all-around title, and another American gymnast now owns the crown. Skye Blakely won all-around gold on Friday in Rotterdam at the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Liudmila Roshchina (WG2/Russia) won silver, and Qinqin Ke (China) rounded out the podium with bronze. Kaylia Nemour, the top qualifier and gold-medal favorite, faltered early, finishing just off the podium in fourth. American Claire Pease finished seventh in her first world all-around final, falling in the standings after a mistake on balance beam.

With her win, Blakely becomes the ninth American woman to become world all-around champion, and the first since Simone Biles. The result is deeply emotional for Blakely, who is still on the mend from an Achilles tear that cut short her 2024 Olympic bid.

Considered a shoo-in to make the 2024 team, Blakely instead stayed home. Two years later, she would go on to win one of the most coveted titles in the sport. Kaylia Nemour (Algeria) qualified first into the women’s all-around final, followed by American Skye Blakely and Russian athlete Liudmila Roschina in the top three.

Women’s All-Around Final Results:

While Claire Pease qualified just in seventh, Pease posted the highest all-around total seen in Rotterdam in the team final, and had potential to challenge Nemour for gold. Also in contention were Elena Colas (France), and Qinqin Ke and Qingying Zhang of China.

The top six qualifiers rotated in Olympic order (Vault; Bars; Beam; Floor), while Claire Pease began her competition on bars and concluded it on vault. With the top 24 women taking the floor, here’s how gymnastics’ premiere event unfolded in Rotterdam.

Rotation One: Nemour Falters

Claire Pease began her competition on bars, a strong event for the 17-year-old world championship rookie. Though Pease showed some rhythm errors, she stuck her dismount without a flicker, earning a 13.833.

Also starting on vault, third-highest qualifier Ludmila Roschina landed a confident vault (14.033) to kick off her competition. Minutes later, Skye Blakely began her competition with the same vault as Roschina – but even better. Blakely took just a small hop back with exceptional form, earning a huge 14.200.

Starting her competition off on one of her weakest events, gold medal-favorite Kaylia Nemour needed to cleanly hit her Yurchenko double full to begin her quest for gold. However, disaster struck. Nemour appeared to miss her timing on her run, vaulting a skill with no twists – a massive downgrade.

Nemour earns just a 12.366 on 3.6 difficulty, 1.4 below her intended vault. Though Nemour’s competition was far from over, she immediately entered a significant bind, sitting in 21st place after one rotation.

After a strong uneven bar routine (14.333), Russian athlete Alena Glotova took an early lead from outside the leaders’ circle.

_{After One (Top Five): 1. Alena Glotova (WG2): 14.333, 2. Skye Blakely (USA): 14.200, 3 (t.) Ke Qinqin (CHN), Naomi Visser (NED), Ludmila Roschina (WG2): 14.033}

Rotation Two:

Sitting in second after rotation two, Skye Blakely kept rolling. The 2025 world uneven bar finalist cruised through her signature combinations, sticking her dismount to a beaming smile. Two routines down, two to go.

On the balance beam, Claire Pease needed a hit set to stay in line with her competitors. However, Pease fell off the beam just seconds after saluting the judges, falling on her opening triple series. Though she executed the remaining routine well, the damage would be significant.

Mounting her signature event, Kaylia Nemour had a comeback to make. Perhaps rattled from her start on the vault, Nemour’s routine looked labored and shaky, but the Olympic Champion persevered. While her score was lower than her ceiling (14.866), it rocketed her from 21st to 6th place.

After a stellar Yurchenko double full to go with a strong opening score on floor, Japanese veteran Aiko Sugihara climbed up into the top scorers.

Leader after the first rotation, Alena Glotova, was next up on beam – an event where she fell in the team final, and again here. Glotova fell off the beam on her acrobatic series, incurring a one-point deduction.

_{After Two: 1. Skye Blakely (USA): 28.600, 2. Ludmila Roschina (WG2): 28.366, 3. Qinqin Ke (CHN): 27.933, 4. Aiko Sugihara (JPN): 27.666, 5. Elena Colas (FRA): 27.633.}

Rotation Three:

Needing another massively hit routine, Nemour mounted the beam with a wobble. Though she managed to stay on the beam, the African All-Around Champion showed nerves throughout the routine. Nonetheless, the judges awarded Nemour with a massive 14.500.

Also looking to rebound from a disappointing beam routine, Claire Pease took to the floor. Starting with a massive Moors tumbling pass, Pease showed her trademark power and elegance, tumbling and dancing to a 13.733, the highest floor score of the day thus far.

Defending world beam champion Qingying Zhang went next, an event where she scored a staggering 15.066 in the team final. Though Zhang displayed her renowned form and flexibility, she missed a handful of connections, bringing her score down to a lower, but strong, 14.233.

In third place after the second rotation, Ke Qinqin was next on the beam. Despite numerous balance checks, Ke still showed trademark Chinese flexibility and form, flowing through her routine. Though the teenager looked to be in the clear, she lost her legs on her dismount, falling to her back for a full-point deduction. Despite the fall, Ke receives a workable 13.833.

Entering beam in fifth place, French star Elena Colas hoped to hurdle the standings on one of her stronger events. Colas was sharp in her connections, delivering an authoritative routine for a strong score of 13.933.

Looking to perhaps take the top spot, Russian athlete Roschina looked to calm her nerves on beam. Though the world championship rookie showed nervous errors throughout, she dismounted with precision for a 13.433.

Last up: Skye Blakely. Known for her prowess but inconsistency on beam, Blakely needed to hit to remain in contention for gold. With ice in her veins, Blakely delivered. Hitting every skill with confidence, she powered through each element without hesitation. She needed a 13.200 to go ahead – she earned a 14.200 to maintain her lead with one rotation to go. Could this be Skye Blakely’s moment?

_{After Three: 1. Skye Blakely (USA): 28.600, 2. Ludmila Roschina (WG2): 41.799, 3. Qinqin Ke (CHN): 41.766, 4. Kaylia Nemour (ALG): 41.732. 5. Elena Colas (FRA): 41.566}

Rotation Four:

Skye Blakely would go second to last, with Nemour closing the competition on floor exercise. Of the top ranked athletes, Ke Qinqin went first. Opening with a tidy triple twist and exceptional leaps, Ke looked to be as clean as possible to make up for her lower difficulty values. Qinqin earns a 13.266 to take the top spot with a 55.032 overall.

Over on vault, Claire Pease closed her night on a high note, delivering a strong 14.133 on vault to finish with a 54.232, nearly two two points below her total from the team finals.

Perhaps on the verge of an historic all-around medal for france, Elena colas closed her night on floor with a strong score of 13.100. As Russia’s best athlete in attendance, Ludmila Roschina laid down the gauntlet with another stellar exercise, scoring a 13.400 on floor to overtake Colas for the lead.

Next up, Skye Blakely. Needing just a hit routine to take the lead, the 21-year-old NCAA gymnast simply just needed execute a clean routine and she would win gold. Three tumbles later, she did exactly that. Kaylia Nemour would follow, looking for a hit to secure her first world all-around medal, but fell just short in fourth.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com