By Anna Rose Johnson and Patricia Duffy
The women’s team final was an exhilarating, exciting competition, featuring breathtaking execution and thrilling difficulty. Here are some of our favorite moments from the record-breaking final!
Feature Photo by Grace Chiu
10. A Victorious Podium!
With their noteworthy performances in Doha, the United States, Russia, and China have officially qualified full women’s teams to the 2020 Olympic Games!
#DohaGym2018 Women's Team Results:
1. USA – 171.629
2. Russia – 162.863
3. China – 162.396
4. Canada – 161.644
5. France – 161.294
6. Japan – 160.262
7. Brazil – 159.830
8. Germany – 159.428
USA, Russia and China earn team berths to #Tokyo2020 with their medals. pic.twitter.com/lXeQnMTGu1— Inside Gymnastics (@InsideGym) October 30, 2018
“I think for all of us it’s just like a dream come true that we’ve been dreaming of this since we were little,” USA’s Riley McCusker said post-meet. “I think it’s just an amazing experience.”
9. Simone and the Cheng!
Opting not to compete her eponymous “Biles” vault, Simone performed her Cheng today, showcasing great height and distance! Beautiful. (But we know The Biles will be back soon!)
Simone Biles continues to produce the goods @DohaGym2018 – this Vault scored 15.500 and has helped the USA 🇺🇸 into an early lead in the Women's Team Final#GoGymtastic #Gymnastics #DohaGym2018 pic.twitter.com/6ErxF47KwQ
— FIG (@gymnastics) October 30, 2018
“There was no point in doing [The Biles] tonight, just to be safe–that comes first,” Biles said about her decision. “We all felt like we could put up some pretty good vault scores. So, it wasn’t needed. If it were needed, I feel like we would have done it differently, but it wasn’t needed.”
8. Brazil’s Brilliance
Under the guidance of Valeri Liukin, the Brazilian team rose to new heights today, challenging for a medal and hitting a trio of strong vaults.
BRA🇧🇷 are on the verge of a historic 1st World Championship team medal – led by 🌟 Flavia Saraiva – seen here scoring 14.433 on Vault – the Women's Team are 3rd with the final rotation happening now❗
Watch live 🎥👉https://t.co/S7u8nFxUyC#DohaGym2018 #GoGymtastic pic.twitter.com/2647fRU9dJ— FIG (@gymnastics) October 30, 2018
7. On the Rise!
Japan finished in sixth place after a few mistakes–but they definitely had highlights, including Asuka Teramoto’s lovely floor routine and a solid beam set from Mai Murakami!
JPN's🇯🇵 Mai Murakami – 2017 Floor World 🥇 – is fighting hard in the Women's Team Finals @DohaGym2018
This Balance Beam exercise scored a big 13.766 🤸
Live Women’s Team results 👉 https://t.co/O0i3yMZKea#DohaGym2018 #Gymnastics #GoGymtastic pic.twitter.com/BpWj5NOOQz— FIG (@gymnastics) October 30, 2018
6. History Made!
Led by veteran Ellie Black, the Canadian team finished an amazing fourth today, less than a point behind bronze medal-winning China!
AMAZING job to the Canadian Women's Gymnastic team on a world best team finish of 4th. Absolutely AMAZING. So proud of how far Canadian gymnastics has come since I competed back in 2004! Go CANADA go!! @CDNGymnastics @EllieBlack_ @Shallonolsen 🤸♀️🙌🇨🇦
— Melanie Fournier – OLY (@melfournier22) October 30, 2018
Canada rewrites the history books placing historic 4th in women's team finals @DohaGym2018! READ MORE: https://t.co/GTKkyftg3D @cbcsports @CdnPress @gymnastics pic.twitter.com/hxsq9FC1A7
— Gymnastics Canada (@CDNGymnastics) October 30, 2018
5. Aliya’s Uneven Bars
One of the major reasons why Russia won silver today, Aliya Mustafina’s impeccable bars routine was one of our favorite performances today:
Aliia Mustafina continues to wow the crowds on Uneven Bars, this routine scored Team 🇷🇺 14.500 @DohaGym2018
🇷🇺 were 2nd behind 🇺🇸 at the halfway point of Women's Team Final
Watch live 👉https://t.co/S7u8nFxUyC
(Geo restrictions may apply)#DohaGym2018 #GoGymtastic pic.twitter.com/KJ7t2b1mc2— FIG (@gymnastics) October 30, 2018
“My team’s performance was quite successful,” Mustafina said via translator. “We did make some mistakes, but they’re not as important because they’re not as crucial. We’re going to keep on working to avoid them next time.”
4. Happy Birthday, Grace!
First-year senior Grace McCallum won her first World gold medal today–on her 16th birthday!
3. Bronze for China
Team China rallied in the last rotation to secure the bronze ahead of Canada. Check out this awesome vault from Liu Jinru!
This 14.366 Vault from Liu Jinru helped CHN🇨🇳 jump up the leaderboard in the final rotation to grab 🥉 in the Women's Team Final @DohaGym2018
The 🥉 also secured 🇨🇳's spot @Tokyo2020 #Tokyo2020 #DohaGym2018 #Gymnastics#GoGymtastic pic.twitter.com/fMKESBOVtJ— FIG (@gymnastics) October 30, 2018
2. Riley’s Redemption
After falling during the qualification round, USA’s Riley McCusker rebounded to deliver this gorgeous beam routine for a 13.733.
On choosing to put Riley up on beam despite her fall during quals, Forster said she earned it and added, "It sends a statement to our USA program, as to the type of system that we have. We don’t write you off if you have a mistake. Mistakes happen. We’re just human." #DohaGym2018
— Inside Gymnastics (@InsideGym) October 30, 2018
Riley added, “It meant a lot to me [to be chosen today] because I knew that my first day performance was not my best. I was definitely very nervous going in, and I feel like I got all those nerves out on that competition stage, and I was ready to come in today and kill it.”
1. Team USA’s Domination; Tokyo in View
The faces change but the result is always the same. The marvelous team broke the record for the largest margin of victory for the U.S. women at Worlds!
LARGEST POINT VICTORY BY A U.S. TEAM AT WORLDS.
THIS TEAM. 😍 pic.twitter.com/j17jA8t13y
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) October 30, 2018
“The pressure is kind of off,” team coordinator Tom Forster said of the team earning a berth to Tokyo 2020. “But it doesn’t change. It’s not like we’re going to go in and send in our scrubs. It’s a World Championships. World Championships are a big deal. It’s a big deal regardless.”
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