Simone Biles led the United States to win a second straight women's team title at the world gymnastics championships Wednesday as she geared up for her defence of the individual all-around title. The 2012 Olympic champions collected 179.280 points through four apparatus events with hosts China second on 172.587 and Russia third on 171.462.
Romania finished fourth at 170.963 as a near capacity crowd roared on the home team at the 4,000-seat Guangxi Gymnasium in Nanning, a day after China grabbed a record sixth straight men's world team title. The 17-year-old Biles competed in three of the four events, topping the table on vault and floor exercise, while her team dominated all but balance beam.
Biles said her team of six teenagers aged 16 and 17 had never thought of getting anything less than gold. "We just think of going out there and having fun and hitting all our routines," she said, "because we don't really watch the other competition." The last world team competition was held in 2011 but it was not staged in the 2012 Olympic year or last year in accordance with the International Gymnastics Federation's calendar.
Biles, the US national champion, said the team gold "means the world" when compared with individual titles she won at last year's worlds, where she also picked the floor title. Biles will defend her all-around crown on Friday as the championships move into individual contests on Thursday.
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