World Gymnastics Championships: Skye Blakely leads U.S. women in qualifying
NBC Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- Veteran gymnast Skye Blakely led the U.S. women with the top all-around qualifying score of 55.465 at the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, marking her world all-around debut after returning from major injuries.
- Claire Pease, a worlds rookie, and Charleigh Bullock also posted strong scores, positioning the U.S. to have multiple qualifiers in Friday’s 24-woman all-around final.
- The U.S. women's team, featuring no Olympians for the first time since 2011, is expected to be a top contender in Wednesday’s team final, continuing their streak of seven consecutive world team titles since 2011.
- The U.S. men qualified fifth for Tuesday’s team final, with Frederick Richard and Danila Leykin advancing to the all-around final; Richard also made the floor exercise final, and Patty Hoopes qualified for the pommel horse final.
- Hezly Rivera, the youngest U.S. Olympian at 16, withdrew from the worlds team due to medical reasons, impacting the originally selected five-woman U.S. squad.
