ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — In a thrilling and historic conclusion to the women’s team final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, China captured the world crown and shattered the United States’ long-standing dominance on Wednesday. Edging out their American rivals by a razor-thin margin of just 0.233 points, the Chinese squad put an end to a remarkable era that saw the United States claim seven consecutive world team titles.
The tense showdown came down to the final rotation and the very last routine of the evening inside the arena in Rotterdam. Needing to score more than 12.600 points on the floor exercise to secure the gold medal for her country, Chinese gymnast Qiu Qiyuan stepped up under immense pressure. Delivering a composed and clean performance, Qiu earned a 12.833, sealing the dramatic victory and pushing China to a final score of 165.764 points.
The United States finished closely behind with 165.531 points to take the silver medal, while Japan captured the bronze, finishing a further 1.468 points behind the Americans to complete the podium ahead of fourth-placed France.
For the American program, the defeat marks the first time they have failed to capture a world team gold medal since 2010, when they were beaten by Russia. While the U.S. gymnasts fought valiantly throughout the afternoon, they were ultimately left to count the cost of costly errors on the balance beam—an apparatus that proved to be the decisive turning point of the competition.
Coming into the championships, the landscape of the American team was notably altered. Superstar Simone Biles, a 23-time world champion who boasts five world titles in the team competition alone, is currently taking a well-deserved break from the sport. Biles has not competed since the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where she added three more gold medals to her legendary career tally.
In her absence, the reigning champions had initially positioned themselves strongly during the early stages of the event. At the halfway mark of the team final, the United States held a healthy and commanding lead, buoyed by exceptional and powerful routines on the vault and the uneven bars. Skye Blakely, the only gymnast on the American roster who was part of the quintet that triumphed at the 2023 World Championships, provided veteran leadership and stellar execution to keep her team at the top of the leaderboard.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically during the rotation on the balance beam. Eighteen-year-old Caylor Dulcy suffered an uncharacteristic stumble on the apparatus, resulting in a score of just 12.333. The mistake opened the door for a surging Chinese team that had already signaled its intentions by leading the way in the preliminary qualifying rounds.
Capitalizing on the American miscues, the Chinese gymnasts delivered masterclasses on the beam. Zhang Qingying, who had already topped the beam qualifying standings earlier in the week, delivered a sparkling and near-flawless performance that earned her a massive 15.066 points. The stellar routine swung the momentum entirely, allowing China to outscore the United States by more than four points on the apparatus alone and wipe out the Americans’ earlier advantage.
Despite the shifting tides, the contest remained agonizingly close as the competition entered its final rotations. The Chinese team faced its own test of nerves under the bright lights of the Rotterdam arena as they transitioned to the floor exercise, knowing that minor mistakes could hand the gold back to the United States. But Qiu stood firm, holding her nerve to deliver the crucial score that secured China’s first women’s team world crown since 2006, halting nearly two decades of American supremacy in the event.
The conclusion of the women’s team final marks a historic high point for Chinese gymnastics and sets the stage for the remainder of the prestigious international competition. The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships continue in the Netherlands on Thursday, shifting focus back to the individual apparatus and all-around events.
Among the highlights of the upcoming schedule is the men’s all-around competition, where Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto is set to defend his prestigious title. Hashimoto will face a tough challenge from his compatriots and fellow competitors, including Olympic champion Shinnosuke Oka. The battle for supremacy in the men’s division comes just a day after the Japanese men’s team asserted their own dominance on Tuesday, capturing the team title by narrowly pipping the teams from Russia and China in another closely contested thriller.