Pease and Esponda take gold and silver in world floor final
Claire Pease scored 13.866 to win the women’s floor final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam. Her U.S. teammate Reese Esponda took silver with 13.566. Their one-two finish gave the American team two medals in the same final on the championships’ last day. Both 17-year-olds competed at their first senior world championships, making the floor final a notable finish for the team.
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Two Americans share the floor podium
Claire Pease won the women’s floor title at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, with U.S. teammate Reese Esponda taking silver. USA Gymnastics and NBC Sports both report the American one-two finish on the last day of the championships. Pease scored 13.866 and Esponda 13.566; France’s Maiana Prat took bronze on 13.466. The final gave the U.S. two places on one apparatus podium rather than two separate victories across the programme. It was especially notable for the athletes themselves: both were competing at their first senior world championships. Pease was the last gymnast to perform in the final, so her routine fixed the final order after Esponda had already posted her score.[1], [2]
Pease wins on the last routine
The gold was Pease’s third medal of the competition. She had already earned silver in the women’s team event and on vault, then added her first world title on floor. USA Gymnastics identifies the 17-year-old as the youngest American world champion since Morgan Hurd took the all-around title in 2017. Esponda, also 17, collected her second silver of the championships after the team medal and her first individual world medal. She had entered the floor final after leading qualification, but Pease’s final routine lifted her above her teammate. The floor final unfolded in this order: Esponda established a medal-winning mark; Pease’s later performance changed the colour of the top medal without removing the U.S. sweep.[1]
Eight medals for the U.S. team
The floor finish completed an eight-medal championships for the United States: three gold, three silver and two bronze, according to the national federation. The golds came from Skye Blakely in women’s all-around, Frederick Richard in men’s floor and Pease in women’s floor. The team also earned women’s team silver, Pease’s vault silver and Esponda’s floor silver; Blakely took bronze on vault and uneven bars. USA Gymnastics says the two floor titles marked the first time U.S. athletes had won both the women’s and men’s versions at one world championships. The floor final was therefore a distinct closing result within the broader Rotterdam meet, separate from earlier all-around and balance-beam titles won by different athletes.[1]
