French gymnasts won the bronze medal in the team competition on Wednesday October 4 at the gymnastics world championships in Antwerp, less than ten months before the Olympic Games (OG) which they will compete at home.

Thanks to a flawless performance, Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos, Coline Devillard, Marine Boyer, Morgane Osyssek and Lorette Charpy obtained a score of 164.064 points and gave France its first world team medal since 1950. The American team with Simone Biles was crowned (167.729 points) ahead of the Brazilians (165.530 points).

Only eighth last year at the World Championships in Liverpool, the French showed a radically different face this year, producing a high-level competition. Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos shone on all apparatus, alone bringing home 56.50 points for Les Bleues.

Third before the last apparatus, the French had to conclude their evening on the beam, the apparatus most prone to penalties, which could have raised fears of a demotion in the ranking. But they ensured an impeccable rotation which opened the way to the podium.

When the result was announced, they exploded with joy, jumping onto the competition stage with the French flag. Three of them will still have chances of individual medals during the week, Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos participating in the all-around final, Coline Devillard in the vault final and Lorette Charpy in the uneven bars final.

Simone Biles wins her twenty-sixth medal

The American gymnasts thus extend the reign of the United States over the women’s team competition which has lasted since 2011. The coronation of the world champions allows Simone Biles, back after two years of absence, to win her twenty-sixth world medal and his twentieth title, a new record.

The American is making her return to the international level in Antwerp, two years after the grueling Tokyo Olympics. Arriving in Japan with the status of big favorite after her four titles won five years earlier in Rio, Simone Biles had collapsed, withdrawing from most of the events because of twisties, sudden losses of any reference in space.