Russian Angelina Melnikova is the new world champion in artistic gymnastics, the first non-American in eleven years, after winning with 56,632 points in the complete World Cup contest that takes place in the Japanese town of Kitakyushu.
Behind Melnikova were Leanne Wong, with 56,340, and Kaylla di Cello, with 54,566, aged 18 and 17 and new stars of the United States national team.
The absolute world title achieved by the 21-year-old gymnast from Voronezh adds to the team gold and individual bronze she achieved at the past Tokyo Olympics and the two silver and two bronze medals he had from previous world championships.
Since her compatriot Aliya Mustafina was proclaimed champion in 2010, all victories in the full contest had been signed by American gymnasts., on five occasions Simone Biles, now convalescing from a psychological crisis.
Melnikova, Wong and Di Cello shared the best marks across all four machines, nullifying any chance of another finalist reaching the podium. The Russian was the most outstanding in the asymmetric (14,533) and the second best in the other apparatuses, with Wong ahead on the floor (14,033) and bar (13,900) and Di Cello the best in jumping (14,600).
The Russian Vladislava Urazova and the Dutch Naomi Visser occupied the following positions and the Chinese Wei Xiaoyuan, 17 years old and Champion of her country’s National Games, she finished sixth and failed to give her country its first women’s world title.
In compliance with the sanctions imposed on your country for its doping offenses, Melnikova could not compete with the symbols of her country, but those of the Russian Gymnastics Federation.
The Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, Olympic runner-up, resigned in Kitakyushu to do the full contest to avoid the floor exercise and will play the other three finals by apparatus next weekend. She has been operated on three times for a torn ligament in her knee.
This Friday the men’s title will be put into play, with the Japanese Daiki Hashimoto, Olympic champion, as the main favorite.