Simone Biles won her third medal in as many events at the World Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, silver in the vault final.
Biles, 17, led the U.S. to team gold Wednesday and repeated as World all-around champion Friday, when she ran from the podium frightened by a bee. She also won vault silver at the 2013 World Championships, behind McKayla Maroney. Maroney didn’t compete this year after March knee surgery.
North Korea’s Hong Un Jong bettered Biles on Saturday, adding to her 2008 Olympic title in the event. Hong averaged 15.599 over two vaults to Biles’ 15.554. American MyKayla Skinner won bronze, her first individual World Championships medal.
Also Saturday, China went one-two on uneven bars with Yao Jinnan and Huang Huidan. American Ashton Locklear was fourth in her first World Championships. Russian Olympic champion Aliya Mustafina was sixth.
“I need to increase my difficulty level if I want to be in the medals, and I have to add new elements to my routine,” Mustafina said. “It is just very hard to learn new tricks at my age [20].”
Russian Denis Abliazin won men’s floor exercise, two years after taking Olympic bronze on the event. It marked Russia’s first Olympic or Worlds gold medal in men’s gymnastics since Alexei Nemov won the all-around at Sydney 2000. Abliazin also captured still rings bronze later Saturday.
American Jacob Dalton was fourth, one year after taking Worlds silver on floor. Five-time World all-around champion Kohei Uchimura won a floor medal at the last three World Championships and 2012 Olympics but did not qualify for the final in Nanning.
“Last year, I qualified eighth in the floor final and came came away second,” said Dalton, who also qualified in the eighth and final spot this year. “Anything can happen. It didn’t affect me at all. I knew if I went out and did what I can do, I’d be among the top three. I tried. It was close, but not quite.”
Hungary’s Olympic champion Krisztian Berki won his third World title and fifth World medal on pommel horse. Alex Naddour, attempting to become the first U.S. man to win an Olympic or Worlds pommel horse medal since 2006, finished sixth after being second to Berki in qualifying.
Liu Yang reclaimed Chinese dominance on still rings, relegating Brazil’s reigning Olympic and World champion Arthur Zanetti to silver. China had won five straight World titles on rings before Zanetti broke the streak in 2013.
The World Gymnastics Championships finish with five more apparatus finals Sunday, including Biles on balance beam and floor exercise and Uchimura on high bar.
Women’s Vault
Gold: Hong Un Jong (PRK) -- 15.599 -- 2008 Olympic champion; 2013 World bronze medalist
Silver: Simone Biles (USA) -- 15.554 -- 2013 World silver medalist
Bronze: MyKayla Skinner (USA) -- 15.366
4. Alla Sosnitskaya (RUS) -- 14.966
5. Giulia Steingruber (SUI) -- 14.716
5. Claudia Fragapane (GBR) -- 14.716
7. Alexa Moreno Medina (MEX) -- 14.549
8. Thi Ha Thanh Phan (VIE) -- 14.37 -- 2011 World bronze medalist
Uneven Bars
Gold: Yao Jinnan (CHN) -- 15.633
Silver: Huang Huidan (CHN) -- 15.566 -- 2013 World champion
Bronze: Daria Spiridonova (RUS) -- 15.283
4. Ashton Locklear (USA) -- 15.266
5. Becky Downie (GBR) -- 15.166
6. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) -- 15.1 -- 2012 Olympic champion; 2010 World silver medalist; 2013 World bronze medalist
7. Lisa Katherina Hill (GER) -- 14.333
8. Ruby Harrold (GBR) -- 13.666
Men’s Floor Exercise
Gold: Denis Abliazin (RUS) -- 15.75 -- 2012 Olympic bronze medalist
Silver: Kenzo Shirai (JPN) -- 15.733 -- 2013 World champion
Bronze: Diego Hypolito (BRA) -- 15.7 -- 2005, 2007 World champion; 2006 World silver medalist; 2011 World bronze medalist
4. Jacob Dalton (USA) -- 15.6 -- 2013 World silver medalist
5. Kim Hansol (KOR) -- 15.5
6. Ryohei Kato (JPN) -- 15.466
7. Eleftherios Kosmidis (GRE) -- 15.05 -- 2010 World champion
8. Rayderley Santana (ESP) -- 13.9
Pommel Horse
Gold: Krisztian Berki (HUN) -- 16.033 -- 2012 Olympic champion; 2010, 2011 World champion; 2007, 2009 World silver medalist
Silver: Filip Ude (CRO) -- 15.783 -- 2008 Olympic silver medalist
Bronze: Cyril Tommasone (FRA) -- 15.6 -- 2011 World silver medalist
4. Saso Bertoncelj (SLO) -- 15.533
5. Robert Seligman (CRO) -- 15.4
6. Alex Naddour (USA) -- 15.3
7. Andrey Likhovitskiy (BLR) -- 15.2
8. Daniel Keatings (GBR) -- 15.133
Still Rings
Gold: Liu Yang (CHN) -- 15.933
Silver: Arthur Zanetti (BRA) -- 15.733 -- 2012 Olympic champion; 2013 World champion; 2011 World silver medalist
Bronze: You Hao (CHN) -- 15.7
Bronze: Denis Abliazin (RUS) -- 15.7
5. Samir Ait Said (FRA) -- 15.566
6. Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE) -- 15.4
7. Courtney Tulloch (GBR) -- 15.4
8. Nikita Ignatyev (RUS) -- 15.266