Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist Angelina Melnikova clinched the all-around title at the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

In the final held on Thursday (Oct. 23), Melnikova scored a total of 55.066 points, finishing 0.100 points ahead of American gymnast Leanne Wong, who took silver, and 0.433 points ahead of China’s Qingying Zhang, who claimed bronze.

For the 25-year-old gymnast, the Jakarta gold marks her second world championships title, following her all-around victory in Kitakyushu in 2021.

“I’ve been focused since the qualification, and in the end, I managed to achieve a better result [gold],” said Melnikova.

Melnikova returned to international competition earlier this year after several years of absence. She admitted that the long break had affected her performance.

“What I showed wasn’t perfect, but I gave my best tonight,” Melnikova said, adding that she felt nervous throughout the championships.

“I was nervous during the qualification, and also during the final, that’s for sure. But in the end, I managed to finish everything,” she said.

At the packed Indonesia Arena, Melnikova performed consistently on three apparatuses —vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise— placing second on each of them.

Her only slip came on the balance beam, where she fell during her routine and scored just 12.800 points, ranking ninth.

Silver medalist Leanne Wong had a shaky start in the final.

The 22-year-old American gymnast ranked seventh on uneven bars, sixth on floor exercise, and third on balance beam.

Wong climbed up the standings after posting the highest score on vault, her last apparatus.

Speaking after the final, Wong said she was very pleased with her performance, especially since the result repeated her silver medal finish at the world championships four years ago —also in the all-around.

“Overall, I’m happy with my performance,” Wong said.

“It’s always my goal to bring a medal home for Team USA.”

On vault, Wong scored 14.466 points —a huge improvement from the qualification round, where she earned just 11.733.

Asked about the significant jump in her score, Wong said she was still adjusting to the apparatus during qualifications.

“I was trying to get used to the vault, but there was a mistake and I hit [the vault]. After maximizing my training performance, I managed to succeed today,” Wong said.

Unlike Melnikova, who fell on the balance beam, Qingying Zhang recorded the highest score on that apparatus. The 18-year-old Chinese gymnast scored 14.833 points.

Although she posted the top mark on the balance beam, Zhang admitted that the apparatus was not her specialty.

As a result, she said she was very satisfied with her performance there, saying, “I would rate myself 95 out of 100.”

“When I compete, I don’t focus on many things —only on what I’m doing,” Zhang added, explaining her approach to success.