TOKYO (AFP) - US gymnastics queen Simone Biles got more than she bargained for when she was handed her gold medal at the world championships on Friday - a fright from a bee.

The 17-year-old, with her medal around her neck, shouted and ran around the podium in panic after retaining her all-around title when the bee emerged from her bouquet of flowers.

Unsure what to do, Biles finally threw the bouquet at the intruder, which also swerved toward flowers held by her teammate Kyla Ross, who finished third behind Biles and Romanian Larisa Andreea Iordache.

"There was a bee on my flowers and then Larisa told me so I tried to get the bee off and then the bee chased me, and then it got on Kyla," said Biles.

"I'm so sorry Kyla. I just don't do bugs."

"I don't like bees at all. I just didn't want it to sting me because I've never been stung before by a bee or a wasp and I kind of freaked out."

A near-capacity crowd was in attendance at the 4,000-seater Guangxi Gymnasium in Nanning, China.