Despite the fact that the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp fell just after an Olympic year, when many of the top athletes were taking much needed breaks from the sport to enjoy the celebrity spotlight, the USA team came away with the most medals it has ever won from a World Championship competition – eight medals in total, with a medal won on each event, including the All-Around gold. The year was somewhat unique, in that two of the 2012 Olympians (Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney) were back in training and competed for the USA Worlds team. They were joined in competition by powerhouse Simone Biles (who became World All-Around Champion that year), resulting in a particularly strong US performance.

The USA has not always been so strong on the world stage, however. Women’s events were added to the World Championship competition at the 1934 Championships in Budapest. The first American woman to ever win a World Championship medal did not come until 1970, when Cathy Rigby won a silver medal on the balance beam. Following that, Marcia Frederick became the first American to win a gold medal, which she won on uneven bars at the 1978 Worlds in France. The USA improved a lot that year in competition, placing fifth in the team final, and with Kathy Johnson and Rhonda Schwandt placing 8th and 9th, respectively, in the All-Around.

The US gymnasts started to really come into the spotlight at the World Championships in 1991, held at home in Indianapolis. The US women were victorious and won the silver medal in the team competition. Even more significant, Kim Zmeskal, a young protégé of Bela Karolyi, became the first American woman to win the All-Around gold medal at World Championships. Zmeskal also won a bronze medal on Floor, while Shannon Miller won a silver medal on uneven bars, and Betty Okino won a bronze on balance beam. It’s interesting to note that the 1991 World Championship team had four out of the six athletes coached by Karolyi, who was already well-known for being the coach of Mary Lou Retton. It’s fair to say that the Karolyis’ widening influence was proving positive for the US team.

The USA continued to improve on the world stage throughout the early nineties, which included Shannon Miller winning back-to-back All-Around gold medals. But it wasn’t until the 2003 Worlds (once again at home, this time in Anaheim) that the US women took home the gold medal in the team competition. They continued to be successful in racking up medals every year after that, including two team gold medals in 2007 and 2011.

While the US seems to be on a continuing upward spiral, it will be interesting to see if they can top their performances in previous years at the upcoming championships. Kyla Ross is the only 2012 Olympian who is fit to compete, and even she hasn’t put all the difficulty back into her routines due to a recent back injury she had to recover from. In addition, a few of the top elites who, several months ago, may have been expected to compete, are currently injured, including Lexie Priessman, Maggie Nichols, Peyton Ernst, and Rachel Gowey. 

The recently named team - Alyssa Baumann, Simone Biles, Madison Kocian, Ashton Locklear, Kyla Ross, Mykayla Skinner and Madison Desch - will be looking to set a new medal count record this October in China. Do you think they can do it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.


Related:
USAG Names Worlds Team 
Nominative Team Lists