# 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 2019 [World Artistic Gymnastics Championships](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-artistic-gymnastics-championships), formally the 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in [Stuttgart](https://www.edgepedia.org/stuttgart), Germany, from 4 to 13 October 2019, combining the 49th men's and 40th women's world championships in one event.[1](https://www.worldgymnastics.sport/site/events/detail.php?id=14274) • [2](https://www.gymmedia.com/event/Stuttgart-2019-en/PREVIEW-WCh-2019-STUTTGART) The competition doubled as a qualification stage for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, for national teams and for individual female gymnasts.[3](https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sravnitelnyy-analiz-rezultatov-sbornyh-zhenskih-komand-rossii-i-ssha-na-49-m-chempionate-mira-po-sportivnoy-gimnastike-2019-goda-v) It was also the first world championships at which artificial intelligence technology was used to help calculate gymnasts' scores.[4](https://law.vanderbilt.edu/01-13/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition and venue | 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany, 4–13 October 2019[1](https://www.worldgymnastics.sport/site/events/detail.php?id=14274) |
| Judging milestone | First use of AI-assisted score calculation, with Fujitsu's judging-support system tested in competition[4](https://law.vanderbilt.edu/01-13/) • [5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/computer-assisted-judging-is-being-tested-at-gymnastics-world-championships/2019/10/09/214a515e-eab9-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html) |
| Women's team podium | United States 172.330, Russia 166.529, Italy 164.796[6](https://thegymter.net/2019/10/17/2019-world-championships-results/) |
| Men's team podium | Russia gold, China silver, Japan bronze[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf) |
| All-around champions | Simone Biles (USA) 58.999 and Nikita Nagornyy (RUS)[6](https://thegymter.net/2019/10/17/2019-world-championships-results/) • [7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf) |
| Biles's record | Five gold medals in Stuttgart, bringing her to 25 world championship medals, the most of any gymnast, male or female[8](https://wagymnastics.fandom.com/wiki/Main%3A2019_Stuttgart_World_Championships) |
| Leading medal table | United States 5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze (8 total); Russia 9 total medals[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf) |
## Format and competition schedule
All participating gymnasts, including those not part of a team, competed in a qualification round, followed by a team final, all-around finals, and apparatus finals for the eight highest-scoring individuals on each apparatus.[8](https://wagymnastics.fandom.com/wiki/Main%3A2019_Stuttgart_World_Championships) Women's qualifications ran over the first two days in twelve subdivisions, men's qualifications over the next two, with the women's team final on 8 October, the men's team final on 9 October, the all-around finals on 10 and 11 October, and apparatus finals on 12 and 13 October.[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf)
Team competition used the 5-4-3 format: a team of five gymnasts, four performing on each apparatus, with the best three scores counting.[9](https://www.stuttgart2019.de/en/regelwerk/) Under the Code of Points then in force, elements were rated for difficulty from A (0.1 points) up to I, the most difficult value, worth 0.9 points.[9](https://www.stuttgart2019.de/en/regelwerk/)
## Computer-assisted judging
On the eve of the championships, the 527 participating athletes were asked to consent to a scan by multiple laser sensors creating a precise three-dimensional image of their bodies.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/computer-assisted-judging-is-being-tested-at-gymnastics-world-championships/2019/10/09/214a515e-eab9-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html) The system, developed with Fujitsu, was the first use of artificial intelligence to help calculate gymnasts' scores at a world championships, and several competitors had their scores increased upon review through the procedure.[4](https://law.vanderbilt.edu/01-13/)
Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), described the judging-support system as a step toward "justice through technology," citing the sport's history of misjudgment.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/computer-assisted-judging-is-being-tested-at-gymnastics-world-championships/2019/10/09/214a515e-eab9-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html) Brett McClure, a former Olympic silver medalist and high-performance director of the U.S. men's national team, favored the technology, seeing more good than harm in the extra set of eyes.[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/computer-assisted-judging-is-being-tested-at-gymnastics-world-championships/2019/10/09/214a515e-eab9-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html) FIG had approved the use of video review in international competition shortly before the event, and a successful test pointed toward deployment at the 2020 Olympics.[10](https://www.axios.com/2019/08/26/gymnastics-var-technology-referees-robots)
## Simone Biles and the record medals
[Simone Biles](https://www.edgepedia.org/simone-biles) of the United States won five gold medals in Stuttgart: team, all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise.[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf) Her all-around total of 58.999 points placed her 2.100 ahead of silver medalist Tang Xijing of China (56.899), with Angelina Melnikova of Russia third at 56.399.[6](https://thegymter.net/2019/10/17/2019-world-championships-results/)
The medal count carried the historical weight of the meet. With the five golds, Biles reached 25 world championship medals, breaking the all-time record of 23 held by former Soviet gymnast [Vitaly Scherbo](https://www.edgepedia.org/vitaly-scherbo) and moving past [Svetlana Khorkina](https://www.edgepedia.org/svetlana-khorkina)'s 20, the previous record for women.[8](https://wagymnastics.fandom.com/wiki/Main%3A2019_Stuttgart_World_Championships) On the first day of apparatus finals she won her 23rd career medal, tying the all-time record, as the anthems of the Philippines and Turkey were played at a world championships for the first time.[11](https://www.worldgymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=2710243)
Biles also landed two new, historic elements, both set to be named after her in the FIG Code of Points following official review: a triple-double tumbling pass on floor and a backward double-twisting double tucked salto dismount off beam.[12](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/simone-biles-beam-dismount-risky/story?id=66111578) • [13](https://time.com/6075185/simone-biles-tokyo-olympics/) The beam dismount became the meet's main judging controversy: FIG valued it as an H when a skill of such difficulty had been widely expected to receive an I or a J, drawing objections from both Biles and USA Gymnastics.[12](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/simone-biles-beam-dismount-risky/story?id=66111578) • [14](https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/10/brilliant-biles-pushes-boundaries-ever-further)
## Results by event
**Women.** The United States won the team final by 5.801 points over Russia, with Italy taking bronze at 164.796, its first women's team world medal since 1950, and China fourth.[6](https://thegymter.net/2019/10/17/2019-world-championships-results/) • [16](https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=35297&type=licence) In apparatus finals, Biles won vault (ahead of [Jade Carey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jade-carey) and Ellie Downie of Great Britain), beam (ahead of Liu Tingting and Li Shijia of China), and floor (ahead of [Sunisa Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunisa-lee) and Melnikova); Nina Derwael of Belgium won uneven bars over Becky Downie and Lee.[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf)
**Men.** Russia won the team title over China and Japan, and Nikita Nagornyy took the all-around gold ahead of teammate [Artur Dalaloyan](https://www.edgepedia.org/artur-dalaloyan), with Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine third.[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf) The Washington Post framed the Russian one-two in the all-around as illustrating the gap between U.S. men's gymnastics and the current world powers.[15](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/russians-take-gold-and-silver-in-mens-all-around-illustrating-us-gymnastics-gap/2019/10/11/8f3dcb3a-ec69-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html) Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines won floor exercise, Artem Dolgopyat of Israel took silver, and Xiao Ruoteng of China bronze; Max Whitlock of Great Britain won pommel horse, Ibrahim Colak of Turkey rings, Nagornyy vault, Joe Fraser of Great Britain parallel bars, and Arthur Mariano of Brazil horizontal bar.[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf)
**Medal table.** The United States led with 5 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze (8 total); Russia collected the largest haul by total with 9 medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze); Great Britain followed with 4.[7](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf)
## Olympic qualification role
The championships were the second stage of qualification for national teams and individual female gymnasts to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.[3](https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sravnitelnyy-analiz-rezultatov-sbornyh-zhenskih-komand-rossii-i-ssha-na-49-m-chempionate-mira-po-sportivnoy-gimnastike-2019-goda-v) Beyond team and all-around routes, qualifying to an apparatus final offered an additional chance at individual Olympic qualification for gymnasts not previously qualified through their team or all-around results.[11](https://www.worldgymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=2710243)
## References
1. [49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, FIG Event Detail](https://www.worldgymnastics.sport/site/events/detail.php?id=14274)
2. [PREVIEW WCh 2019 Stuttgart, Gymmedia](https://www.gymmedia.com/event/Stuttgart-2019-en/PREVIEW-WCh-2019-STUTTGART)
3. [Comparative analysis of the results of the Russian and US women's teams at the 49th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2019 in Stuttgart, CyberLeninka](https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sravnitelnyy-analiz-rezultatov-sbornyh-zhenskih-komand-rossii-i-ssha-na-49-m-chempionate-mira-po-sportivnoy-gimnastike-2019-goda-v)
4. [The Robots Have Arrived…to Judge Gymnastics, Vanderbilt Law School](https://law.vanderbilt.edu/01-13/)
5. [Computer-assisted judging is being tested at gymnastics world championships, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/computer-assisted-judging-is-being-tested-at-gymnastics-world-championships/2019/10/09/214a515e-eab9-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html)
6. [2019 World Championships Results, The Gymternet](https://thegymter.net/2019/10/17/2019-world-championships-results/)
7. [49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships official results book, USA Gymnastics](https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/worlds_artistic_results_2019.pdf)
8. [Main: 2019 Stuttgart World Championships, Gymnastics Wiki](https://wagymnastics.fandom.com/wiki/Main%3A2019_Stuttgart_World_Championships)
9. [The Rules, Stuttgart2019](https://www.stuttgart2019.de/en/regelwerk/)
10. [Robot judges are coming to gymnastics, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2019/08/26/gymnastics-var-technology-referees-robots)
11. [More history made in Stuttgart as Biles ties all-time medal record, FIG World Gymnastics](https://www.worldgymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=2710243)
12. [Is Simone Biles' new beam dismount too risky for others?, ABC News](https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/simone-biles-beam-dismount-risky/story?id=66111578)
13. [Simone Biles Is Already the Best Gymnast Ever, TIME](https://time.com/6075185/simone-biles-tokyo-olympics/)
14. [Brilliant Biles pushes boundaries ever further, Euronews](https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/10/brilliant-biles-pushes-boundaries-ever-further)
15. [Russians take gold and silver in men's all-around, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/russians-take-gold-and-silver-in-mens-all-around-illustrating-us-gymnastics-gap/2019/10/11/8f3dcb3a-ec69-11e9-9306-47cb0324fd44_story.html)
16. [VILLA Giorgia - FIG Athlete Profile](https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=35297&type=licence)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Gymnastics competitions*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license