After almost all sports competitions had to be canceled last year due to the corona pandemic, the sports world is slowly returning to normal. Now the Gymnastics World Championships 2021 took place in the Japanese city of Kitakyushu. The 50th anniversary of the World Gymnastics Championships was originally supposed to take place in Copenhagen. But the organizers withdrew from hosting the event. Kitakyushu took over.
For seven days, the athletes competed in various disciplines. The male gymnasts competed in the individual all-around, floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, jump, parallel bars and horizontal bar. The gymnasts excelled in the disciplines of individual all-around, jump, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
In the end, the Russian Angelina Melnikowa won the all-around title for the first time. The 21-year-old won the General Gymnasium last Thursday with 56.632 points. The US athlete Simone Biles had previously won the world champion title five times.
Russia as a nation still banned
However, she was not allowed to celebrate her gold medal under the Russian flag. In December 2019, the WADA executive imposed a four-year ban on Russia, which is not allowed to participate in world sports events such as the Olympic Games and world championships as a nation.
Unaffected athletes in the country can compete as neutral athletes during this period. To do this, they have to meet certain anti-doping conditions. The Russian anthem may not be played or sung, the Russian flag may not be worn or hoisted on team clothing.
American women in second and third place
Leanne Wong from the USA won the silver medal with 56,340 points. Bronze also went to an American. Kayla DiCello finished third with 54,566 points.
In the men’s category, the Chinese Zhang Boheng won the thriller for the men’s all-around title. The 21-year-old won the final with 87.981 points and relegated the Olympic champion of the Tokyo Games, Japanese Daiki Hashimoto (87.964), to second place with just 0.017 points. Third place in the European Championship, Illja Kowtun from Ukraine (84.899), took bronze.