Undeniable. It’s one of the few words that could truly encapsulate the aura of Skye Blakely during the all-around final at the 2026 World Championships.
Just over two months ago, some were left questioning whether Blakely would even make the U.S. Worlds team following a rough performance at the national championship that saw her drop from first place after Day 1 to seventh place on the final day. But today, roughly two years after tearing her achilles, Blakely stands before us as a World all-around champion — a true testament to her unwavering determination and the belief that this really was her destiny after all.
There was no shortage of drama in the final, as the first rotation saw Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour — the all-around leader from qualifications and the favorite to win gold — have an uncharacteristic slip-up on vault. She intended to perform a double-twisting Yurchenko but messed up her run and ended up doing only a Yurchenko layout — an error that cost her 1.40 in difficulty, dropping her to 21st place and leaving the door wide open for other competitors to capitalize on her mistake.
The Russian Alena Glotova came out strong in her first World all-around appearance, posting a 14.333 on bars to top the leaderboard after the first rotation. Blakely followed with a beautiful double-twisting Yurchenko, earning a 14.200. Rounding out the top three was a three-way tie between Ke Qinqin, Naomi Visser, and Lyudmila Roshchina, who all scored 14.033.
Claire Pease, the other American in the final, who posted a 56.099 in the team final — the highest all-around total of the World Championships so far — started the competition in sixth place after a solid bar routine that scored 13.833.
In the second rotation, the drama continued. Pease fell on her series on beam, as did the leader after Rotation 1, Glotova. Nemour moved to her best event, the uneven bars, where she gained back some ground in the rankings. However, it still wasn’t her best routine. She broke her combination out of the in-bar full and added a kip to regain her momentum. But it was a hit routine that still brought in a big score — a 14.866.
Blakely, meanwhile, put together one of her best bar routines of the year, capping it off with a stuck double-front half dismount. Her 14.400 was enough to propel her into the lead by just over two tenths. Qinqin and Roshchina rounded out the top three at the halfway point.
The third rotation saw Qinqin hit a beautiful beam routine that ended with an unfortunate fall on the dismount (13.833), while Nemour delivered a shaky — but hit — routine that allowed her to stay in the mix for the medal podium (14.5). Roshchina and Qingying also hit their beam routines and kept themselves in the podium conversation. But it was Blakely who made the biggest statement of the rotation, hitting a beam routine under pressure — perhaps the best routine she’s done all year — to extend her lead to a full point heading into the last rotation.
In the end, it was all Blakely. All she needed to do was stay on her feet to earn the gold. At this point, the battle for silver and bronze came down to Qinqin, Nemour, and Roshchina.
Roshchina, who had been so steady all day long, delivered exactly the routine she needed to earn the silver with a 13.4. Qinqin put up a stunning floor routine with clean execution, scoring a 13.266 to earn the bronze. Nemour was also clean on floor but didn’t quite have enough to overcome her earlier mistakes.
Blakely only needed a 12.399 to win the title, and she delivered a 12.933. And what a moment it was!
As the score came in, Blakely couldn’t hold back the tears. World Champion sure has a nice ring to it.
Blakely is now the first gymnast in history to win a World all-around title while actively competing in college.