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Simone Biles Headlines USA Gymnastics' World Championships Team
USA Gymnastics has announced its team for the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Qatar, with four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles headlining the group.
Kara Eaker, Morgan Hurd, Grace McCallum, Riley McCusker, and Ragan Smith round out the team. An alternate will be selected in Qatar.
Biles took a hiatus from competition after the 2016 Olympics. She returned in July 2018 for the U.S. Classic, where she won the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise. Biles then won all five events in the U.S. National Championships in August.
Hurd won the gold medal in all-around and the silver in balance beam at the 2017 World Championships in Montreal. Smith also competed in Montreal. Eaker, McCallum, and McCusker will be making their international debuts for the senior team.
At 21 years old, Biles is the only member of the team older than 18. Eaker and McCallum are the youngest members at 15 years old.
Biles began her senior team career in 2013 at age 16. That year, she became the first African-American to win the all-around gold medal at the World Championships. She also won gold in all-around at the World Championships in 2014 and 2015, leading the U.S. to the team gold in both of those years. Biles won gold in the all-around, vault, and floor at the 2016 Olympics, and received a fourth gold medal for the U.S. winning the team gold.
The 2018 World Championships will take place in Doha, Qatar, from Oct. 25th to Nov. 3rd.
