Simone Biles qualified for the women’s all-around final at the world championships in Antwerp in first place after the final day of qualifications on Monday. The American is also the only gymnast to qualify for all four event finals after an incredible display on Sunday following a two-year layoff from international competition.
Behind Biles, who scored an imperious 58.865 points, Britain’s Jessica Gadirova qualified in third place, her score of 56.766 points edging out Rebeca Andrade, the defending all-around champion, by just over one-tenth. In addition to reaching the all-around final, Gadirova qualified for the vault, beam and floor finals. She is the first ever British gymnast to qualify for a world beam final.
Gadirova’s success is a reflection of the significant improvements that she has made this year, solidifying her status as one of the best of the rest behind Biles one year after winning a surprise all-around bronze medal.
Last year, despite committing an error on the uneven bars, Andrade dominated the world all-around final in Liverpool, winning by more than 1.5 points. But the level from the top four gymnasts here is incredibly high. Although Andrade remains the competitor most likely to put pressure on Biles in the final on Friday, a similar error on the uneven bars on Monday meant that the Brazilian had to settle for qualifying in fourth place behind Biles, Shilese Jones and Gadirova.
Gadirova’s improvements are visible across her gymnastics. She has sharpened her consistency and execution on her weaker events, particularly on the uneven bars, which was previously an inefficient and inconsistent apparatus for her. “We just went back to basics for the little things. I’ve been really, really focusing on the execution from last year,” Gadirova said.
Her strengths, meanwhile, have become even more potent. After performing a common double twisting Yurchenko vault throughout her career, Gadirova’s mastery of the Cheng vault has elevated her to another level. Andrade also performs the Cheng, which had been Biles’s primary vault for much of her career. “We’ve been working on [the Cheng] a while but after worlds last year, we’ve been really trying to work it and get the difficulty and I’m glad it’s paying off,” Gadirova said.
She has paired Cheng with another of the most difficult skills in the sport, the double twisting double straight somersault on floor, also called the Moors. Gadirova had previously performed the same tumbling pass in tucked position but doing so in straight position requires a level of power, technique and height that very few are capable of.
With her power, clean execution and considerable mental toughness, Gadirova is now undoubtedly the best all-around gymnast Great Britain has produced. She will head into the all-around final with enough quality to battle for medals on equal terms with her formidable opponents.
On Tuesday, Great Britain will compete for a medal in the men’s team final, the first final of the competition. The British team, bronze medalists last year, qualified in third place and they will face a tough battle with Japan, USA and China for the medals.
