Yeap Kang Xian
Athletes competing in women’s artistic gymnastics from 23 countries set, matched, or broke records for their nations at the world championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, making history in the sport and inspiring future generations of athletes to follow in their footsteps.
View the complete list of world championships records.
ALGERIA
After star competitor Kaylia Némour broke all of Algeria’s records in her world championships debut in 2023 and then broke all of those records last year, she proved she still had much more on her list, including winning her second uneven bars title to match that record, and winning her first gold medal on beam, breaking her second-place record from the prior year.
In addition to Némour’s personal success, she also helped Algeria finish in 20th place, setting the team record as this was the program’s first time with a complete squad at worlds. Congratulations to Némour and teammates Louna Hamames-Moallic, Sihem Hamidi, Léna Khenoun, and Djenna Laroui!
BRAZIL
In her first major world-level competition since the Olympic Games, Rebeca Andrade won her third gold medal on vault, matching the record she set in 2021 and then matched in 2022.
Most exciting for Brazil this year, though, was Flavia Saraiva finally winning a medal at her seventh world championships after making her debut in 2015. With her bronze medal on beam here, Saraiva also tied for the program’s best finish on this apparatus, matching Andrade in 2023.
CANADA
One of the surprises for making the floor final in Rotterdam was Lia Redick in her worlds debut! The Canadians have been making a push for the podium here for the past decade, but while she wasn’t able to make it happen here, she got pretty close, tying Brooklyn Moors‘ 2017 record for fifth place.
CHINA
For the second time in history, the Chinese woman won the world championships title, matching what their compatriots last accomplished 20 years ago in 2006! Congratulations to Du Siyu, Ke Qinqin, Qiu Qiyuan, Zhang Qingying, Zhang Yihan, and alternate Qin Xinyi for getting their golds!
COSTA RICA
In her world championships debut, Samantha Marin showed off a great balance beam set in qualifications, finishing in 54th place to break teammate Marina Guevara‘s 93rd-place record from 2025.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
University of Michigan standout Sophia Diaz made her elite debut earlier this year to qualify to world championships, where her 83rd-place finish on floor slightly edged out Olympian Yamilet Peña’s 88th-place record from 2013.
EL SALVADOR
In the second appearance we’ve seen from El Salvador in world championships history, Maria Mancia broke nearly every record set in 2019!
She finished 108th in the all-around to break Alexa Grande‘s 146th-place record, 138th on bars to break Paola Ruano‘s 189th-place record, and 152nd on floor to break Grande’s 160th-place record. Additionally, Mancia became the first WAG athlete from El Salvador to compete two vaults in qualifications, setting the program record with 27th place.
FRANCE
Two first-year seniors joined the ranks of history makers for France at this year’s world championships! Maïana Prat became the third athlete from the program to win a bronze medal on floor, tying the records of Ludivine Furnon in 1995 and Cassy Vericel in 2007, while Elena Colas is the third athlete to finish fourth on beam, tying the records of Furnon in 1997 and Marine Boyer in 2022.
GERMANY
After recovering from an injury sustained at European Championships last year, Helen Kevric has been back on track as one of Germany’s top competitors this season, winning a silver medal on the uneven bars, which is the best-ever finish for the program as we know it before and after the Cold War, breaking Elisabeth Seitz‘s third-place finish from 2018.
HONDURAS
We last saw an athlete from Honduras compete at worlds over a decade ago in 2015, where Kaisa Chirinos – formerly of Finland – set four records for the program. In their first appearance back, Lily Guevara broke nearly all of these records, finishing 111th in the all-around (up from 171st), 145th on floor (up from 187th), and 154th on bars (up from 217th). Though she didn’t break the bream record, she did tie it, matching Chirinos with a 145th-place finish.
JAMAICA
Another record for a University of Michigan star turned brand-new elite athlete! Jahzara Ranger, who debuted at Pan Ams this summer before going on to win two medals at the Central American & Caribbean Games, finished 20th on vault in Rotterdam, breaking the 30th-place record set by Jaida Lawrence – also an NCAA standout! – in 2011.
JAPAN
After 60 long years of trying but missing out – and very narrowly in some recent years! – Japan finally returned to the team podium, winning the bronze medal for the third time in program history after also taking it in 1962 and 1966. Led by veteran Sugihara Aiko, the team also included Kishi Rina, Nakamura Haruka, Nishiyama Misa, Okamura Mana, and alternate Yamaguchi Sara.
LIECHTENSTEIN
Julia Weissenhofer made history this year as the first gymnast to represent Liechtenstein at worlds! She set five program records by finishing 16th on vault, 104th on floor, 105th in the all-around, 150th on beam, and 153rd on bars.
MALAYSIA
This was an exceptional year for the Malaysian program, first with some incredible performances at the Commonwealth Games this summer, and now with four records broken at world championships! After placing fifth at Asian Championships, the team didn’t qualify outright, but when North Korea withdrew, these ladies earned the reserve berth, and they made every moment count in Rotterdam.
Rachel Yeoh Li Wen, who has looked incredible on bars this year, shattered her own 38th-place record by finishing 15th in qualifications with one of her highest career scores. Yeap Kang Xian broke two records, including her own on beam after finishing 43rd (an improvement from 46th place last year) and the all-around after finishing 45th, topping Olympian Farah Ann Abdul Hadi’s 59th-place record from 2019.
The squad – which also included Zarith Imaan Khalid, Cadence Teh Zi Qi, and Audi Zulkarnien – also collectively broke the program’s team record, finishing in 24th place, a big improvement from 37th place in 2018.
MALTA
As a reserve athlete on the list of world cup qualifiers for beam, Philippa Busutill got a very last-minute spot to compete in Rotterdam, and she made the most of it! By finishing in 81st place on beam in qualifications, she broke Tara Vella Clark‘s 115th-place record from 2022.
MOROCCO
In her world championships debut, Salina Bousmayo – who previously represented Germany – finished 81st on beam in qualifications, breaking a longstanding record from Naima El Rhouati, who was 86th on this event in 1993.
MYANMAR
Pan Ei Phyu – formerly known as Amber Breckenridge when she represented Singapore – made history this year as the first gymnast to represent Myanmar at worlds! She set four program records by finishing 107th in the all-around, 120th on beam, 149th on bars, and 150th on floor.
PERU
Always known for her elegant and clean work on beam, Fabiola Diaz broke her own record on this apparatus in Rotterdam, finishing in 42nd place with a stunning set in qualifications to best her 51st-place finish from 2019.
QATAR
Another athlete who came in last-minute as a world cup reserve, Salma Hamed finished 24th in vault qualifications to break Shaden Wohdan‘s 47th-place record from 2013.
SOUTH KOREA
Though she missed out on the final by the tiniest of margins, beam standout Hwang Seohyun still made history on this apparatus, breaking the 15th-place record set by Lee Heekyung in 1992, which Hwang actually matched with a fall last year!
SWITZERLAND
The Swiss athletes had a fantastic competition in qualifications this year, and their 14th-place finish was the best we’ve seen from this program in over 40 years, tying the record from 1979 and 1983! Congrats to Lena Bickel, Daria Hartmann, Anastassia Pascu, Samira Raffin, and Anny Wu!
UNITED STATES
After coming back from a devastating injury that kept her out of the Paris Olympics just weeks before they were set to begin, Skye Blakely is back with a vengeance! Winning a total of four medals in Rotterdam, she also became the ninth U.S. woman to win a worlds all-around title, following in the footsteps of Kim Zmeskal in 1991, Shannon Miller in 1993 and 1994, Chellsie Memmel in 2005, Shawn Johnson in 2007, Bridget Sloan in 2009, Jordyn Wieber in 2011, Morgan Hurd in 2017, and Simone Biles in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023.
Additionally, Claire Pease in her world championships debut became the sixth U.S. woman to win a worlds title on floor, matching the records of Kim Zmeskal in 1992, Shannon Miller in 1993, Alicia Sacramone in 2005, Shawn Johnson in 2007, and Simone Biles in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2013.
ZIMBABWE
Kylana Muchatuta made history this year as the first gymnast to represent Zimbabwe at worlds! She set two program records by finishing 155th on floor and 158th on beam.
Article by Lauren Hopkins
