Claire Pease and Reese Esponda go 1-2 on floor to cap historic gymnastics worlds for the US

ROTTERDAM — Claire Pease won the floor exercise world title and Reese Esponda took silver on the final day of the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam on Sunday, completing a historic championships for the United States (https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/gymnastics-world-championships-2026-reese-esponda-floor-exercise).

Pease, 17 and competing at her first World Championships, scored 13.866 as the eighth and final gymnast in the floor final. “I really controlled my power and settled into the podium landings,” she said. Esponda, also 17 and also on her worlds debut, took silver after posting the best score in qualifying, with Maiana Prat of France third (https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/gymnastics-world-championships-2026-reese-esponda-floor-exercise).

“I’m just really proud of my fight,” Esponda said. “I worked really hard. In team final, I didn’t have my best routine, so I put my best foot forward, and I was trying to work on all my landings, and I think I did a lot better today.”

The result meant three different Americans won individual world titles for the first time in 15 years, after Skye Blakely’s all-around gold on Friday. Pease is the youngest American to win an individual world title since Morgan Hurd in 2017, and the first American to win individual gold in her first worlds since Hurd (https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/gymnastics-world-championships-2026-reese-esponda-floor-exercise).

Pease also won silver medals in the team event and on vault in Rotterdam. The United States finished the championships with the most total medals, eight, and tied China for the most golds, with three (https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/gymnastics-world-championships-2026-reese-esponda-floor-exercise).