Simone Biles wins fourth all around world title by record margin despite falls | Sport

Simone Biles overcame falls on the balance beam and vault to become the first woman to win four all-around world championships on Thursday in Doha.

The 21-year-old American finished with a score of 57.491, seen off Japan's Mai Murakami, who finished 1.693 points behind for the silver. Morgan Hurd, last year's world champion in Biles' absence, finished 0.066 behind Murakami for bronze.

The margin of victory, even accounting for Biles' first falls in 60 career routines in the Olympics or world championships, marked the largest of all four world titles.

Biles, now on two golds at this year's worlds after leading the United States to the team title on Tuesday, will have four more opportunities for silverware in the final and can become the first woman to win six medals at a world championships since Yelena Shushunova of the Soviet Union in 1987.

Great Britain's Ellie Downie upgraded her qualifying scores on all four pieces of apparatus to total 54.233 and finish in 11th place on her return to competition.

More to follow.