Florida gymnastics' junior standout Skye Blakely represented the Gators in style, winning the all-around gold medal at the 2026 World Gymnastics Championships at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Friday.
In doing so, Blakely became the first gymnast to compete in NCAA gymnastics and win a world all-around title in the same calendar year. She also joins Gator grad Leanne Wong — who claimed silver in 2025 — as the only gymnasts to medal in the world all-around final in the same year they competed collegiately.
Additionally, Blakely was the only gymnast at the 2026 championships to qualify for four individual finals: all-around, vault, uneven bars and balance beam.
The championship marks another milestone in Blakely's remarkable comeback
from a right Achilles tendon injury she suffered during podium training at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials that ended her hopes of competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Blakely returned to competition as a Gator in Florida's Jan. 10, 2025, season opener, making her collegiate debut on uneven bars. She continued building toward an elite return, competing on the uneven bars and balance beam at the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships, sharing the bars win and taking second on beam.
She then earned a spot on the U.S. roster for the 2025 World Championships, also performing on bars and beam.
In August 2026, Blakely returned to elite all-around competition at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships — her first elite all-around appearance since the 2024 U.S. Championships. She earned silver on uneven bars and secured her sixth consecutive U.S. senior national team berth.
With the all-around gold secured, Blakely returns to competition Saturday for the vault and uneven bars finals. She closes her championships Sunday in the balance beam final.
The 2026 championships mark Blakely's fourth senior World Championships appearance. She previously helped the United States win team gold in 2022 and 2023 and added team silver in 2026. Her previous individual world results include fifth on balance beam in 2022 and fourth on uneven bars in 2025.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Skye Blakely wins all-around gold at 2026 World Gymnastics Championships
