(Aachen, Germany) – It all came down to one minute. It was years in the making, but it came down to one minute in Aachen, Germany, and when that one minute was over, 18-year-old Megan Benjamin of Saratoga, CA, was the first female American vaulter ever to take a world championship. For the past 20 years, a German woman has always held the title of World Champion, and Germany has also won 23 of the last 30 world championships. Today, Germany stepped aside while the U.S. made history.

Benjamin was the last vaulter of the day, so it all came down to a nail-biting finish for the Americans. Benjamin had a few hours to rest between her Team Silver performance with the F.A.M.E. team representing the U.S. Her Team Silver hadn’t even sunk in when she had to vault aboard the horse she co-owns, Leonardo, with longeur Lasse Kristensen. Benjamin had been the leader through all three days of competition.

Benjamin again had the highest freestyle score of 8.720, taking the title with a competition total of 8.421. Benjamin took her victory gallop on foot with her United States flag in tow, along with longeur and co-owner of “Leo,” Kristensen. Austrian Katharina Faltin earned the Silver medal with a score of 8.311, and fellow Austrian Sissi Jarz took Bronze with an 8.254.

“I’ve actually never done so well as this year,” said Benjamin. “It’s amazing. A lot of my success has to do with the fact that I am also on Devon Maitozo’s team.”

Since she is 18 and will next year have to choose between vaulting as an individual or on a team, the inevitable question came up. “Unless I am ever asked to be on a team this great, I plan to compete as an individual.”

Today was full of firsts; it was also the first time in history an American vaulting team has won Silver in a world championship.

The top 12 teams were back today to perform their “kur” or freestyle. The U.S team vaulted third to last, in reverse order of go. The freestyle routine is made up of both static and dynamic exercises. Static exercises must be held for three strides, while dynamic exercises are ones in which the center of gravity moves from one point to another. Only the top 25 most difficult exercises performed over the four minutes were counted.

The real competition was between the U.S.A., Austria and Germany. The U.S.A’s F.AM.E. team continued to climb after a somewhat disappointing compulsory, due to their horse being unsure of his surroundings. Their choreography again impressed the packed stadium, continuing their moves throughout the performance, even when not in contact with the horse. They scored even higher than yesterday—an 8.936, the highest again of the competition. Overall, they received an 8.161 for their outstanding effort, earning them a Team Silver, just barely out of reach of the Gold. This is the best an American team has ever done at a world championship, even more impressive since they’ve competed only seven times and have only been a team since October.

When asked what his words of advice were for his team going in today, team member and coach, Maitozo replied, “Today was just about looks and pats. We just looked at each other with that little twinkle in our eye knowing we could do it, and that’s pretty much all we needed to say today. We really do trust each other, and we’ve learned to work together really well.”

The Austrians entered the arena after the Americans and had huge shoes to fill. Despite their calm nerves and their fearless flyer, who could do just about anything with her little body, they ended their trip with an 8.152 overall and the Bronze medal.

The Germans were last to go and after part of their music spooked their horse and two vaulters fell, it appeared they left an opening for the U.S. to win a Gold. But it was not to be. Germany earned an 8.571 in their freestyle, which got