Despite Holding Back on Floor, Shilese Jones Reinstates Contention for World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Three-time medalist from last year’s World Championships, Shilese Jones, is making her return to the global event. Unlike last year, the gymnast is up against the legendary Simone Biles who put up a flawless display of moves. Although personal competence is a continual fight for even teammates, their teamwork poses an imminent threat to foreign teams on an international level.

The thrill of the podium finish persisted right up until the very end, given both gymnasts fell during the routines. The gymnasts finished just a hair apart in each of the three senior women’s events. Of course, Biles took first place in the final rankings, but Jones was an exclusive runner-up with far from the best floor exercise score.

Shilese Jones’ penchant for World Gymnastics Championship lineup

Going by the statistics from the most recent gymnastics events, Simone and Shilese’s rivalry was fierce, pushing the audience to the edge. At the U.S. Women’s World Team Selection Camp in Katy, Texas, Jones finished fifth. While Biles suffered an unanticipated fall on Jones’ mastered uneven bars. Despite being close contenders, both gymnasts pose strengths over their mastered routines.

Jones shared her BB performance on Instagram recently. Adding a purple heart emoji, the gymnast tagged Sapieth America, the provider of equipment for the US Team. Notably, Jones took the first spot in the all-around rankings up until the third routine on day 1, although Biles quickly matched up with her remaining rotation. At the end of the World Camp selection event, Biles was crowned the AA champion with 55.700. Her scores were just 0.400 more than Jones’s cumulative while in individual apparatus comparison, on BB: Jones came second while Biles finished third, and on floor: at the top was Biles with 14.3 and Jones got 13.5.

Going by the dismounts and landings, Jones was flawless, displaying her extraordinary talent on the uneven bars on Day 2, scoring 14.750. Interestingly, her scores were 0.700 more than Biles’s Day 1 BB score. Another peculiar win for the two athletes is the pushed Code of Points in their respective signature moves; Simone’s Yurchenko double pike vault (debuted 2021 US Classic) and Shilese’s Stalder Nabieva on BB (debuted 2022 US Classic).

Jones’ 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships win

The Worlds events took place in Liverpool, England, in October 2022. Jones took home the team gold and an individual silver medal on the uneven bars. With a total score of 55.766 points, she was 1.5 points shy of winning AA from Rebeca Andrade of Brazil. Last year the American team kept the team’s gold streak running at the Worlds Championship, making this year exciting than ever.

Despite having second thoughts about quitting professional gymnastics after placing tenth in the Olympic Trials in 2021, Shilese took home three medals. Now, Jones aims to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics after winning gold in Antwerp!

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