Current:Home > FinanceRobert Brown|Who will make the US gymnastics team for 2024 Paris Olympics? Where Suni Lee, others stand -MoneyTrend
Robert Brown|Who will make the US gymnastics team for 2024 Paris Olympics? Where Suni Lee, others stand
Indexbit View
Date:2025-04-07 16:38:14
FORT WORTH,Robert Brown Texas — Simone Biles is a gimme for the Paris Olympics. Because, duh. Did you watch her at the U.S. championships? Or any other competition since she returned last year?
The question is who joins the four-time gold medalist on the squad for Paris. And that answer is now both clearer in some ways and murkier in others than it was a few days ago.
Suni Lee and Skye Blakely improved their prospects with their performances at nationals last weekend. But now there are concerns about the health of Shilese Jones, who was considered almost as much of a lock as Biles until she withdrew from nationals to protect her injured shoulder.
“There's been a little bit of progress,” Jones told NBC on Sunday night. “I woke up and I was like, 'It's feeling a little bit better than this whole week.' It's been a little bit stiff, but some progression today."
Subscribe to USA TODAY's newsletter:Chasing Gold: Your guide to the 2024 Paris Olympics
The Olympic trials for gymastics are June 27-30, so it’s not time to panic just yet. In the meantime, here’s a look at the contenders:
Stock rising
Suni Lee
Lee competed the all-around for the first time since last spring, when a kidney ailment forced her to cut her final season at Auburn short. If not for a fluke error on vault on the second night — she stubbed her toe on the runway and had to cut her Yurchenko double to a 1½ — Lee would have finished third.
Lee was fabulous on balance beam, with her 14.9 on Sunday the highest score on the event of the entire meet. She missed being third on uneven bars by a mere 0.050 points despite her routine not having its full difficulty.
“Beam and bars are the one thing I need to — not prove myself on, but that’s where I’m going to be the most useful to the team. So I’m glad I could (do) both those (well),” Lee said. “I just have to go back into the gym and work on my consistency, get my bar routine with full difficulty and keep staying consistent on beam.”
Skye Blakely
She put together two solid and consistent nights that included the first 15 of her career, for her upgraded Cheng vault. She was second to Biles in the all-around both nights, and she was top three on vault, bars and beam.
Though she was a member of the last two world championship teams, Blakely played a supporting role. Her performance at nationals showed her — and she hopes the selection committee — that she’s ready to be a main contributor in Paris.
“Coming off this meet, I know what I’m capable of now, so that will put even more confidence in myself,” she said. “I see myself in training, so I know what I can do. But to be able to finally put it out there on the floor and show everybody and myself, it really means a lot to me.”
Jordan Chiles
The Tokyo Olympian is making steady improvement, but it was her silver medal on uneven bars that really stood out. Remember that the format for team finals is three gymnasts on each event and all three scores count, and Chiles would give the U.S. women insurance on bars and vault.
Hezly Rivera
The U.S. junior champion last year made quite an impression in her first nationals as a senior, finishing fourth on balance beam and fifth on uneven bars.
Work in Progress
Jade Carey
She has the big vaults, but she needs to score better on floor exercise, where she’s the reigning Olympic champion. That's not a complete surprise, given the quick turnaround between Carey's NCAA and elite seasons.
Kayla DiCello
High-scoring potential is one thing, but consistency is another. After a fall on uneven bars and a rough performance on balance beam, DiCello needs to show at trials that she can deliver under pressure.
TBD
Shilese Jones
If she's healthy, she’s on the team. These next three weeks will be big.
Kaliya Lincoln
Lincoln withdrew from nationals midway through the first night with an injury but petitioned into Olympic trials. Could add a big score on floor exercise.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
veryGood! (285)
Related
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- AIGM puts AI into Crypto security
- Clayton MacRae : 2024 Crypto Evolution
- Mannequin falls onto track during IndyCar Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- New York Rangers sweep Washington Capitals, advance to second round of NHL playoffs
- MLB power rankings: Red-hot Philadelphia Phillies won't need a turnaround this year
- West Virginia and North Carolina’s transgender care coverage policies discriminate, judges rule
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Documentary focuses on man behind a cruelly bizarre 1990s Japanese reality show
Ranking
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Russia attacks Ukrainian energy sector as Kyiv launches drones at southern Russia
- Republicans seeking Georgia congressional seat debate limits on abortion and immigration
- How Columbia University’s complex history with the student protest movement echoes into today
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas competes for first time since 2016
- Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas competes for first time since 2016
- Putin likely didn’t order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, US official says
Recommendation
SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
AIGM puts AI into Crypto security
Antisemitism is rampant. Campus protests aren't helping things. | The Excerpt
How Dance Moms Trauma Bonded JoJo Siwa, Chloé Lukasiak, Kalani Hilliker & More of the Cast
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
More than a dozen military families in Hawaii spark trial over 2021 jet fuel leak that tainted water
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Gotcha in the End
Horoscopes Today, April 27, 2024