The 2023 World Gymnastics Championships are almost upon us and this year’s competition is full of athletes you’ve seen before or will be seeing in the upcoming collegiate seasons. With nearly 20 athletes competing who have ties to the NCAA – including current, former and committed gymnasts – we’re breaking down who will be competing in Antwerp and when to watch them. Qualification will take place between October 1 and 2, with the WAG finals schedule available here.
Stay tuned to FIG’s streaming and scoring platforms. Keep in mind there might be country-specific platforms available so you can easily watch the action unfold in real time. Qualifications and finals will be available to watch on All Gymnastics TV with individual apparatus streams for all subdivisions. All finals will be streamed on Peacock for those with access.
11:45 AM – 1:05 PM EDT: Subdivision 2 – Taiwan, United States of America, All-Around, All-Around 7
Joscelyn Roberson, United States (Arkansas, class of 2024 recruit)
Roberson makes her debut at the world championships with a vast amount of recent international experience under her belt. This season she won a total of 12 medals of silver or better from Winter Cup, DTB Pokal, Cairo World Cup and the Pan American Championships. Roberson will be hoping to make the vault finals as well as helping the team to the world title. Arkansas’ Jordyn Wieber will be delighted to see the rise of Roberson’s star. She’ll be a huge addition to the Razorbacks’ lineup and is set to become a huge name on campus when she joins the team for the 2024/2025 season.
Shilese Jones, United States (Florida, class of 2024 recruit)
Shilese Jones, still officially committed to Florida as a deferred class of 2024 recruit, returns to the world stage as the reigning silver medalist in both the all-around and on bars. Expectations will be on her to challenge for a second all-around podium finish but the competition will be fierce with the return of Simone Biles, a full-strength Rebecca Andrade and a confident Jessica Gadirova, all of whom are in the hunt to bring home all-around hardware.
Leanne Wong, United States (Florida)
Bow-tique owner and Gator junior Leanne Wong makes her third appearance at the world championships, this time with a third place finish at nationals under her belt. Wong is in the unique position of being a very strong and hugely consistent all-arounder, without being a one of the top two scorers on any of the four events. It will be interesting to see what strategy USAG takes with her but I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in the all-around in qualifications and then only compete bars in team finals.
Skye Blakely, United States (Florida, class of 2024 recruit)
Skye Blakely makes her second world championship appearance after being part of the team that won gold in Liverpool last year. She finished just off the podium in the all-around at the national championships last month but placed second on vault, beam and bars. As one of five current or future Gators present at these championships, it’s safe to say that Florida’s reputation of being stacked with elites is secure for the coming years.
Kayla DiCello, United States alternate (Florida)
Kayla DiCello, the bronze medallist in the all-around at 2021 world championships, travels to Antwerp this year as the alternate. Unlike Wong, who has chosen to pursue the elite route while competing in this upcoming NCAA season, DiCello will defer her sophomore year at Florida to return to train elite at Hill’s Gymnastics with the goal of making the 2024 Olympic team.
1:30 PM – 2:50 PM EDT: Subdivision 3 – All-Around 2, Great Britain, Korea, South Africa
Ondine Achampong, Great Britain (California, class of 2024 recruit)
Five-star recruit Achampong joins a highly decorated and successful Team GB. She has been a member of the team that has become world silver medalists and, most recently, European Champions. I would expect to see her as the third all-around athlete on this strong team. British Gymnastics will expect to have two athletes in the all-around finals, so qualification will decide who gets two-per-countried out. On a good day any of the top three British all-arounders have the potential for a top 12 finish. As the current national champion on beam, I’m really hoping she can put together a fantastic routine in qualifications so we can see her in the beam final. Cal will be watching with interest as I expect to see Achampong feature heavily in multiple lineups when she gets to college.
4:00 AM – 5:20 AM EDT: Subdivision 4 – All-Around 1, Spain, Belarus, Romania
Lilia Cosman, Romania (uncommitted, Class of 2025)
Cosman is a three-star uncommitted recruit in the class of 2025 who made her senior international debut at the European Championships this past April. At Romanian national championships in May, she placed third in the all-around with a score of 51.450 and all eyes will be on Romania to see if they can qualify a team to the Olympics for the first time since 2012. Look out for her full-twisting double tuck dismount on bars and fluid twisting on floor.
7:00 AM – 8:20 AM EDT: Subdivision 6 – All-Around 6, Australia, Brazil, All-Around 12
Sandra Elsadek, Egypt (Ball State and Georgia Alum)
Elsadek made her international debut for Egypt in May at the African Championships where she took silver on vault and bronze on beam. She spent four seasons at Ball State where she had a career high of 38.975 in the all-around during her senior year. She opted to take her covid year at Georgia where she competed on vault and floor, an event on which she had a career high of 9.925 with a routine that featured an opening double pike and a double-back dismount. It’s great to see gymnasts like Elsadek and Lynnzee Brown demonstrate that it’s possible to begin an international elite career after college graduation.
10:15 AM – 11:35 AM EDT: Subdivision 7 – All-Around 10, Austria, All-Around 5, Canada
Aurélie Tran, Canada (Iowa, class of 2024 recruit)
Aurélie Tran won the senior all-around title at Canadian nationals in May and helped the team to a third place finish at pan ams where she took the all-around bronze. Tran scored a 13.700 on bars during both days of nationals and finished top two on three of the four events. She finished fourth on beam with a fall on day two. Iowa will be delighted to have both Tran, a five-star recruit, and her three-star countryman Cassie Lee joining the team next season. Expect Tran to be a mainstay in the all-around for the Hawkeyes.
Cassie Lee, Canada (Iowa, class of 2024 recruit)
Although she finished a very respectable fourth all-around at Canadian Nationals this year, beam is Lee’s standout event. She competed a 6.5D routine both days, scoring 13.033 and 13.266, finishing first on the event. Her high score this year of 13.500 came at the City of Jesolo Trophy in March. Lee will be hoping to perform a routine in qualifying that could earn her a spot in the beam finals. The Canada-to-Iowa pipeline remains strong and I would expect Lee to be a regular toward the end of the beam lineup when she arrives on campus for the 2024/2025 season.
Ava Stewart, Canada (Minnesota, class of 2024 recruit)
Stewart joins the Canadian worlds team fresh off a second place finish in the all-around at nationals. She made her international debut as part of the Canadian Olympic team in Tokyo, and has remained in the top half of this talented elite group since. She excels on all events but stands out especially on floor, where she has beautifully expressive choreography. Look out for her eponymous dismount on bars: an E rated double-front pike. Stewart is another five-star Canadian recruit who we would expect to feature heavily in the all-around in her four years in the NCAA.
Frédérique Sgarbossa, Canada Alternate (Iowa State, class of 2024 recruit)
Sgarbossa improved on her seventh all-around placement from Canadian nationals to place fourth at worlds trials and be named the traveling alternate. She won the gold medal for her all-around performance at the Canada Winter Games earlier this year. Iowa State will be watching her performances on bars and vault over the coming year, hoping that she can slot into lineup spaces there. Keep an eye out for her double layout off bars that looks almost college ready.
Anya Pilgrim, Barbados (Florida)
A very late entry to the roster for this competition, Florida freshman Pilgrim will be thrilled to gain further international experience after making her debut for Barbados at the 2023 Pan American Championships. If you follow level 10 gymnastics, the likelihood is that you have heard of her before. She finished 2nd all-around at DP Nationals this year and her beautiful Yurchenko one and a half gives the Gators another 10.0 vault that should challenge for a lineup spot in Gainesville.
Olivia Kelly, Barbados (Missouri, class of 2024 recruit)
Kelly is competing in her second world championships for Barbados after securing her space at this year’s Pan American Championships in Medellín, Columbia. She opens her floor routine with a double arabian and performs a very solid Yurchenko full on vault. Expect to see Kelly make lineups as an underclassman, but especially on vault where Shannon Welker should be hoping for her to make an immediate impact when she arrives in Columbia, MO.
Lynnzee Brown, Haiti (Denver Alum)
Gymternet fan favorite and NCAA legend Lynnzee Brown competes in her first ever world championships after qualifying through the Pan American Championships in May this year. Brown’s aim for this meet will be to qualify to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The top 14 all-around scores from an athlete not from a country that has qualified a team will earn an olympic berth. Alternatively, apparatus quotas can be earned with the highest-ranked athlete in each apparatus final that is yet to qualify earning a quota. Haiti is one of two countries that could also gain a space through the Tripartite Invitation place. Since graduating from Denver with a BA in Film, Cinema and Video studies, Brown has been balancing her elite training with her new job as the assistant coach at Penn State.
11:45 AM – 1:05 PM EDT: Subdivision 8 – Germany, Hungary, Finland, All-Around 13
Csenge Bácskay, Hungary (Nebraska)
Bácskay competed in four meets for Nebraska last season, making an appearance on bars, beam and vault, though she has utilized the summer break to compete on vault and bars in international competitions. She placed second on vault at both the Osijek and Tel Aviv Challenge Cups and had a season high score of 12.900 on bars in Osijek. With Nebraska returning their top 5 vault scores from last season and Lucy Stanhope – with her excellent Yurchenko one and a half – transferring onto the team, it remains to be seen how regularly we see Bácskay in that event for the Huskers this coming season.
Kaia Tanskanen, Finland (Missouri)
Tanskanen has been busy on the international circuit this year with appearances in both the bars and beam finals at the Doha world cup and a win in the all-around at the Northern European Championships in late 2022, where she finished first on floor and second on beam. She doesn’t have a weak event and went 52.100 in the all-around at Northern Europeans and 49.500 at this year’s European Championships. Her dynamic tumbling is a major asset to Team Finland and as a four-star recruit just about to begin her freshman season at Missouri, she’s expected to make an immediate impact on lineups.
Aleah Finnegan, Philippines (LSU)
Finnegan will bring her trademark polish and finesse to Antwerp as she hopes to qualify to the Paris 2024 Olympic games by placing in the top 14 all-around, once gymnasts from countries who have already qualified are removed. She comes to these championships with a bronze medal on vault and beam from the 2023 Asian Championships and a gold and silver on the same events at the Southeast Asian Games in May 2022. Finnegan competed the all-around in 15 out of 15 meets for LSU last season so it will be interesting to see how her elite routines look after a few months break from the intense college schedule.
Kylee Kvamme, Philippines (Alabama, class of 2024 recruit)
Kvamme made her international debut at the Asian Championships in June where she scored 48.765 in the all-around. She sat out the majority of the 2022 season with a back injury, but had a fantastic return to Level 10 competition in the 2023 season where she was upgraded from a three to a four-star recruit in our ratings after she won the vault and beam titles at nationals and showed increased consistency. Alabama will be delighted to have her joining the team next year. She has a very clean Yurchenko one and a half which should score well in college.
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Article by Katie Couldrey
