Twenty years later, the Chinese women are on top of the world again
A beaming People’s Republic of China ended the USA’s long winning streak — and its own two-decade wait for another women’s team title — at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Wednesday, topping the Americans by 0.233 in an astonishingly close team final.
Both nations plus bronze medallist Japan also qualified full teams to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, checking the most important item off each country’s Olympic to-do list. Nine more teams will earn berths to the Games at next year’s World Championships.
Balance Beam made the difference for the Chinese, who pulled ahead on the strength of three phenomenal routines in the third of four rotations, leaving only Floor Exercise still to go. World champion Zhang Qingying led the way with 15.066 points for a masterpiece of an exercise that surpassed all others in difficulty.
She was backed up by Qiu Qiyuan and Ke Qinqin, erasing the U.S.’s early lead and giving the Chinese a two-point advantage heading into the final rotation.
They would need it. The USA pulled out all the stops on Floor in its bid for an eighth consecutive team title, counting 13.4 from Reese Esponda, 13.6 from Dulcy Caylor, and a competition-high 13.933 from Claire Pease, keeping the pressure on China as the leaders navigated their weakest apparatus.
But even without Floor Exercise specialist Zhang Yihan or the Americans’ high-voltage tumbling, China was up for the challenge. Zhang Qingying, Ke and Qiu maximised their potential with characterful routines that leaned into high-difficulty dance elements to keep things close.
It all came down to Qiu. Needing better than 12.6 to secure the gold, the 19-year-old delivered 12.833, bringing China’s total to 165.764, just ahead of the U.S.’s 165.531.
“This is a very prestigious medal for us — the first gold in 20 years,” said Zhang Qingying. “It represents 20 years of work and progress for us, and I am so happy that we were able to win it.”
For the U.S., winners of every team title since 2011, silver had a bittersweet taste, especially after a brilliant start on Vault and Uneven Bars. While China rose on the strength of their Beam routines, the Americans lost critical points when Caylor fell on her dismount and Skye Blakely was not credited for an underrotated leap, shaving nearly a point from her score.
Blakely was able to relativise the situation, and the 21-year-old said she encouraged her teammates to do the same.
“There’s so, so much to be proud of,” Blakely told reporters. “We didn’t give up at all, and that we’re on the podium, that already means so much. We’re on this world stage, and the biggest goal for us was really just to come here and just do our normal and qualify our country for the Olympics, and that’s exactly what we did.
“I think we fought for everything that we could, and that is more to be proud of than anything.”
A bronze on the strength of small gains
On an evening when long waits were compensated with precious medals, Japan’s bronze glittered like a gold to a team who last stood on a World Championships podium in 1966.
Japan’s rise from fifth in qualification to bronze was the result of improved performances from Nishiyama Misa, Kishi Rina, and Sugihara Aiko, but the Japanese also played an ace by inserting Nakamura Haruka into the lineups on Balance Beam and Uneven Bars even though the 18-year-old did not do either in qualification.
It was a risky move, but it paid off. Nakamura’s 14.133 on Beam and 13.966 on Bars were Japan’s highest on both apparatus, and all but assured them a place in the top three even before last up Nishiyama began her Bars routine. Japan finished with 164.063, almost three points clear of fourth-place finisher France.
“We adopted a concept called ‘Build 0.1,’ focusing on gaining every 0.1 of a point during our training,” Sugihara explained. “While we certainly had that goal, we also aimed to perform with a clear, unburdened minds, just executing our routines as we always do and above all making sure we were the team that enjoyed the experience the most. We talked about this again last night, and I believe we were able to put that into practice today.”
Bronze caps a year of historic accomplishments for the Japanese women, noted Sugihara, whose sobbing reaction to the results — tears of gratitude, she said — was one of the defining images of the night.
“I’m so proud that we were able to change history in our own time,” she said.
Lifted by Elena Colas, Maiana Prat, and Morgane Osyssek-Reimer, France landed one spot below its bronze medal from 2023 but still earned its third-best finish at a World Championships. Brazil, WG2, Italy, and Canada, all of whom had their own issues on Beam, rounded off the eight-team final.
Competition continues at the World Championships with the Men’s and Women’s All-Around finals Thursday and Friday.
