Skye Blakely’s comeback is complete. The 21-year-old USA Gymnastics star earned her first-career all-around title at the 2026 World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam.
All three all-around medals were decided by less than one point. Blakely’s score of 55.733 across all four apparatuses edged Russia’s Liudmila Roshchina (55.199) and China’s Ke Qinqin (55.032).
“To see it really come to be tonight, it makes me so proud of myself,” Blakely said. “And makes me reflect on little me who would dream of this.”
Blakely’s victory punctuates a comeback years in the making. She was forced to withdraw from the 2024 US Olympic Trials with an Achilles injury.
She earned four medals overall — all-around gold, team silver, and bronze in vault and uneven bars — coming in second behind legend Simone Biles in medals won at a single World Championships.
“Throughout the meet, I was telling myself, ‘Do it for the girl in 2021, and the girl in 2024 who couldn’t do everything, just fight for her,’” Blakely added.
