The defending men’s and women’s all-around champions Kohei Uchimura and Simone Biles have topped the individual tables in qualifying at the World Championships in Nanning, China, boosting their countries’ bids for the team titles.
Japan’s 25-year-old ace Uchimura, chasing a record-stretching fifth straight world all-around crown, led the men’s overall score at 92.165 points.
The 2013 European champion David Belyavskiy of Russia was second at 90.748 and China’s national champion Deng Shudi third at 90.630 in the men’s qualifying round on Friday and Saturday.
But Japan finished second in the team standings at 361.609 points, 1.089 below hosts China who are seeking an unprecedented sixth straight world men’s team title on top of their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds.
US champion Biles, just 17, dominated the women’s qualifying round staged on Sunday and Monday, stepping up her campaign to become the first female gymnast since Russia’s Svetlana Khorkina in 2003 to win a second straight all-around world crown.
She also leads the US bid for a third straight women’s global team gold to add to their 2011 world and 2012 London Olympics titles.
Biles topped three of the four apparatus events to collect 59.599 points followed by 2012 world champion Aliya Mustafina at 58.874 and Romania’s five-time European champion Larisa Andreea Iordache third at 58.365.
The United States finished atop the women’s team table at 235.038 with 2006 champions China second at 230.753.
Russia, hoping to regain the title they lost to the United States in 2011, finished third at 228.135.
The points from the qualifying rounds do not count toward the team, all-around and event-by-event finals.
The top eight teams each in men’s and women’s competitions qualified for the team finals on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The all-around finals are to be contested each by the top 24 finishers with a maximum of two per country.
Each of the apparatus finals brings together the top eight finishers with a maximum of two per country.