Local gymnast Shilese Jones, who trains in Auburn, Wash., represented the United States at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, and returned home with three medals: a gold medal for Team USA, a bronze in the all-around, and a bronze on the uneven bars.
Jones began her competition on Sept. 30, during subdivision – one of the qualification rounds where she competed as a part of Team USA. In a fantastic start to the meet, Team USA qualified for the team final in first place, coming in over four points above the second qualifier. Jones also qualified individually for the all-around final, following none other than Simone Biles. Jones also qualified for three event finals: bars, beam, and floor.
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Local gymnast Shilese Jones represented the United States at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
The second day of competition brought along the team finals, where Jones represented Team USA on all four events. Starting on vault, Jones scored a 14.100, helping to move team USA into the leading spot after the first rotation.
Moving onto the uneven bars, Jones continued her streak of consistency and scored a 14.633. After a rough beam rotation for Team USA, they transitioned to the floor looking to confirm their gold medal. A miraculous save from Jones led to her starting the event off with a 13.566.
Team USA won gold, scoring a total of 167.729 points, over two points above the silver medal competitor, Brazil.
“It came to the last event, you know, we knew we had to go out there and hit what we know we’re capable of doing,” Jones said to the Today Show after the competition, while talking about that final rotation on the floor.
On Oct. 6, Jones moved onto the all-around competition, starting on vault. Jones began her competition with a 14.233, before moving onto her best event the uneven bars, where she scored 14.633. A drastic improvement from the team finals, Jones earned a 14.066 on the balance beam moving her into second place after the third rotation. Her final event of the competition, Jones earned a 13.400 on the floor exercise, cementing her place on the podium.
“Just being able to pull through and go four for four again at my second worlds just feels amazing honestly,” Jones stated to reporters after the all-around competition. With a total score of 56.322, Jones won the bronze medal in the All-Around Final. Coming in behind Simone Biles from team USA, and Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.
Event finals took place on Oct. 7, where Jones competed in the bars, beam, and floor finals. After taking an unfortunate fall on beam, Jones moved into seventh place. Continuing a consistent streak of scores on floor, Jones earned a 13.666, placing fifth in the field. Competing first on bars, Jones scored a 14.766, allowing her to cement third place and earn a bronze medal for the uneven bars.
Jones trains at Ascend Gymnastics in Auburn, Wash. and her road to the World Championships had been anything but straightforward. After coming in 10th at the Olympic Trials in 2021, Jones just missed her shot at Tokyo, and considered quitting then. But Jones’ resilience has pushed her forward in her elite career. “It’s crazy that I’m here today and still going strong,” Jones stated in an interview with GymCastic News while reflecting on her near decision to quit two years ago.
Jones competed in her first World Championships in 2022. Where she helped Team USA win gold. Additionally, Jones came in second in the all-around behind Rebeca Andrade, earning a silver medal.
“I’m capable of so much more, and I just want to show everybody that I’m still here and I’m a force to be reckoned with,” Jones stated in an interview with the Olympic channel.
Her recent competitions have all worked towards one goal: the Olympics. Jones aims to compete for Team USA at the Olympics Games in Paris this upcoming year.