Angelina Melnikova Edges Leanne Wong In Dramatic World All-Around Finish

Russia’s Angelina Melnikova clinched the women’s all-around title in Jakarta early Thursday morning, marking her second all-around title after winning the gold in 2021. U.S. gymnast Leanne Wong won silver after a stellar showing, coming up short by just .100 – a razor-thin margin in women’s gymnastics.

Melnikova and Wong shared the podium at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, where they achieved the same placements (first and second). This time around, China’s Zhang Qinying joined them on the podium.

Zhang claimed bronze behind a spectacular effort on the balance beam and consistency across the remaining three events. Algerian Olympic gold medalist Kaylia Nemour finished off the podium after a fall on balance beam and an error on floor.

American rookie and breakout star Dulcy Caylor was the top U.S. qualifier heading into today’s competition, but struggled on two of her main events.

Final Results:

1. Angelina Melnikova, AIN (Russia): 55.066

2. Leanne Wong, United States: 54.966

3. Zhang Qingying, China: 54.633

Read how the action unfolded this morning in Jakarta.

Rotation One: Melnikova Takes Early Lead

Wong began her competition on bars, an event where she was incredibly solid in qualifying. The 20-year-old was exceptionally clean on the apparatus onc more, hitting her handstands for a strong 13.800 to start her day.

Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour took to the vault to start her bid. Nemour showcased an upgraded vault in qualifying but came up short and fell to her knees. Needing to land cleanly to contend today, Nemour put the vault to her feet, incurring minor deductions for a hop forward and directional issues. With a 13.466, Nemour went into seventh after one rotation.

The qualification round’s No. 1 qualifier Angelina Melnikova was next on vault – an event where she was also the top qualifier. While Melnikova opted to complete the simpler of her two vaults, the Russian neutral athlete showed incredible height on her double-twisting Yurchenko to post a huge 14.100.

Second-place qualifier, Japan’s Aiko Sugihara, then began her bid to become the first Japanese world all-around champion. Though Sugihara competed a simpler vault than Melnikova and Nemour, she stuck the vault with no movement for a superb 9.300 execution score.

American rookie Dulcy Caylor began on vault with the top competitors in her first world all-around final. As one of her stronger events, Calyor looked for a big hit to remain in contention. She added another ‘hit’ to her resume in Jakarta, landing with a slight hop back for a 13.966 – good for second place.

While Melnikova’s early lead was impressive, the top group then headed to uneven bars, an event in which Nemour is the defending Olympic Champion.

After One: 1. Melnikova (RUS/AIN), 2. Caylor (USA), 3. Sugihara (JPN), 4. Ludmilla Roschina (RUS/AIN) 5. Wong (USA)

Rotation Two: Nemour Climbs, Wong Delivers

Sugihara would lead off the top group on bars. While the 26-year-old started cleanly, she fell from the bars on a difficult combination release move. Her score: 12.200. The second-highest qualifier was down, and a door had been opened.

While Sugihara struggled, her Japanese teammate Kishi Rina excelled on the balance beam, posting a formidable 13.433 to climb the standings.

Melnikova took to the bars next, an event where she also qualified for the event final. The veteran looked unaffected by her competitor’s fall, swinging with ease and sticking her full-twisting double back dismount. She earned a 14.700, up two-tenths from the qualifying round.

After a strong start, Caylor needed to swing cleanly on bars to remain in the top group. This routine was crucial, as she fell from the bars during the qualification round. Though Caylor stayed on the bars on her Tkatchev skill – the one that gave her trouble in qualifying – she fell from the bars on her second single-bar release.

China’s Qingying Zhang was outside the top five after rotation one, but was nearly flawless in rotation two. Zhang stuck an impeccable dismount for a strong 13.900 to rocket into the top five.

Wong delivered her best routine of the season on balance beam. After scoring a 13.166 in qualifying, the four-time World medalist nailed her new connection on beam to post a 13.500, up nearly four tenths. Just like that, Wong entered the top three.

Now, Nemour. The 2024 Olympic champion and runaway favorite on the uneven bars faced her biggest test. Nemour scored a staggering 15.533 in qualifying and looked for a similar score here to jump ahead of Melnikova. While Nemour hit, the Algerian missed a key connection and a couple handstands, contributing to a lower score: 15.166.

After Two: 1. Melnikova (RUS/AIN), 2. Nemour (ALG), 3. Wong (USA), 4. Zhang (CHN), 5. Karina Schöenmaier (GER)

Rotation Three: Zhang Surges into Lead

Rotation three would prove a difference-maker for the top group: they would head to balance beam, the most precarious of the women’s events.

After leading through two rotations, Melnikova looked ready to cruise to her second world all-around title. However, even veterans aren’t immune to the beam. The Russian landed crooked on her acrobatic series, and fought for multiple seconds to save the skill, but inevitably fell from the beam. The judges awarded a 12.800, a strong score considering the multiple balance deductions preceding the fall.

Germany’s Karina Schöenmaier followed, heading into beam in an impressive fifth-place position. Though the European vault champion fought through to deliver a hit exercise, she nearly fell from the beam on multiple occasions and fell in the standings.

The falls continued for Dulcy Caylor on beam. Though Caylor was stellar on the event in qualifying, she fell from the beam today on her double wolf turn, producing a disappointing result for the world championship newcomer.

Zhang was next, looking to deliver her most important routine of the day. The gymnast qualified in first on balance beam with a massive 14.366 – if she could replicate that performance, she would remain in contention for the medals. Zhang hit once more, delivering an exceptional 14.833 to rocket into first place.

On floor, Wong needed to show her renowned consistency to hang with the top group. She delivered once again, posting a strong 13.200 to improve upon her qualifying score.

Nemour was last up, needing to hit after falling from the beam in qualifications. Unfortunately, the top contender fell once again, struggling with her wolf turn – the same skill that took Caylor off the apparatus.

After Three: 1. Zhang (CHN), 2. Nemour (ALG), 3. Melnikova (RUS/AIN), 4. Wong (USA), 5. Asia D’Amato (ITA)

Heading into the final rotation, just .133 separated the top three. Though Wong sat a distant fourth place, she headed to her strongest event: the vault.

Rotation Four: Wong Catapults into Contention

It all comes down to floor (and vault).

After a rough showing on bars and beam, Caylor finished her day with a strong exercise on floor, hitting her intricate second pass to a massive smile and a big 13.433. She would not medal today, but Caylor will have two more chances in the event finals.

Zhang, the surprise leader after three, took to the floor to close out her exceptional day. Though floor is one of her weaker events, Zhang looked clean and composed.

While the top qualifiers battled on floor, Wong took to the vault, needing to deliver on her difficult Cheng vault. This was her opportunity to climb into the medals, and the world championship veteran delivered. With huge height on her block and a large step back, she catapulted into first place with a massive 14.466. She would medal – it was a matter of time to determine what color.

Nemour needed at least a 13.268 to tie Wong – a doable, but lofty score for the bars specialist. While the Algerian started strong, she came up short on her final pass, incurring significant landing deductions to fall into third for the time-being.

Though the bars error removed her from contention, Japan’s Aiko Sugihara did not break her beaming smile throughout her floor routine, delivering a clean hit for a strong finish to her day.

It would all come down to Melnikova. Needing a 13.367 to pass Wong, Melnikova would have to deliver clean landings with minimal errors. Though the Russian appeared to go out of bounds on her opening pass and fall out of one of her turns, the judges felt that her effort was enough for gold. She was awarded a 13.466 to defeat Wong by just one tenth.

Final Results:

1. Angelina Melnikova, AIN (Russia): 55.066

2. Leanne Wong, United States: 54.966

3. Zhang Qingying, China: 54.633

The win marks Melnikova’s second world all-around title, and her third world all-around medal. For Wong, it’s her second silver. Zhang’s medal marks her first world all-around podium finish and first world medal of any color.

Many were quick to react negatively to Melnikova’s floor score, arguing that Wong was the cleaner athlete on the day. “How can the judges actually still have a job,” one fan probed on X. “They just robbed Leanne of the gold.”

“Why even have a competition if you will rig the floor E scores for your favorite to win,” another posted, responding to the International Gymnastics Federation’s post with the results. “A favorite I might add that won a political primary for Putin’s political party. Real neutrality there.”

While Melnikova fell from the beam, her superior difficulty scores ultimately prevailed over Wong’s stellar execution. Nonetheless, her political affiliation with the Russian military and questions surrounding her participation continue to swirl.