MINNEAPOLIS – Last stop, the Twin Cities. Next stop: Paris.
The US Gymnastics Trials come to Target Center this weekend, where 20 men and 16 women will compete for five spots each on the US men's and women's Olympic teams. The men hope to send a team to Paris that he can match his performance at the bronze medal world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, last October. And the women hope to improve on their Tokyo team's silver.
Both goals are lofty and achievable, and the competition to field the two teams will be fierce. Here's what you need to know when the competition begins Thursday.
Biles is a lock
It's been just over three weeks since the US championships in Fort Worth, where Biles won the gold medal in all events and all individual events. The 27-year-old is unbeaten in overall competitions since 2013, a streak that will likely never be matched and is set to culminate in Paris.
“She is an icon in our sport,” Alicia Sacramone Quinn, USA Gymnastics strategic leader and member of the selection committee, said Wednesday. “I don't know if there will ever be another gymnast who comes close to her caliber of achievement, difficulty and the impact she has had on our sport.”
If Biles wins this two-day meet in Minneapolis, she will earn the only automatic bid to the five-woman team. She will then focus on blocking out outside noise before the Paris Games, where she can become the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history and the first gymnast to win Olympic gold in non-consecutive Games.
Brody is also a favorite
After performing his high bar vault at the US championships, Brody Malone let out a roar. “Having been through everything I've been through, I've learned to be grateful for every opportunity to compete,” he said that night, after winning his third national title in four years, his first time competing in more than a year.
In the spring of 2023, Malone crashed while descending from the high bar at a World Cup in Germany, fracturing his tibia and tearing the meniscus and two major ligaments in his right knee. He underwent multiple surgeries before spending months relearning how to walk. His return to the sport has been incredible, as has his determination to make his second Olympic team. If his performance in Fort Worth was any indication, the 24-year-old is the favorite to take the overall title and earn the automatic bid.
Shilese and Suni are an alliterative force
Neither Shilese Jones nor Suni Lee have earned spots on the team. But they have certainly made strong statements as to why they deserve to be selected. Jones, 21, skipped U.S. championships to rest her injured right shoulder in hopes of being 100 percent at the trials, but she has consistently proven to be the No. 2 gymnast in the country.
On Wednesday, her coach, Sarah Korngold, said the decision to rest her shoulder was a good one: Jones is pain-free this week and is working to regain her stamina. If his shoulder holds up, he's on the team.
no crumbs @sunisalee_ ✖️ #USAGTrials24 pic.twitter.com/7TqBV0OQ6x
– USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) June 26, 2024
A year ago, it seemed almost impossible to imagine the 21-year-old Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, making this team. She had recently been diagnosed with two kidney diseases that kept her without training for many days. Last August, Lee turned down an invitation to the world team selection camp to focus on his health and did not train for more than four months. She then returned to the gym in January and began to slowly increase her training and improve her routines. She was fantastic on bars and beam in Fort Worth, and if she performs similarly this weekend, she will make the team thanks to her ability on both events. The fact that the trials are taking place in her hometown only adds fuel to Lee's fire.
Until this week, 19-year-old Skye Blakely was also a heavy favorite to make the team. Blakely finished second to Biles in Fort Worth and debuted a new vault for herself, called Cheng. But in podium practice on Wednesday, Blakely was taken off the court with what appeared to be a serious leg injury.
Get ready for the fight for the women's final spots
If all goes to plan, three spots will appear on the women's side. Will the selection committee award the final spots to another all-rounder, like Kayla DiCello, who finished third at nationals, or Jordan Chiles, who finished third at the U.S. Classics? Or could it be Leanne Wong, who has been one of the country's most consistent performers in recent years and made her debut as Cheng in Wednesday's podium training?
They can also choose another specialist to balance Lee's strengths on bars and beam, such as Jade Carey, Joscelyn Roberson or Kaliya Lincoln, known for their skills on vault and floor.
📍@kayladicello at home pic.twitter.com/pM2B760JTp
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) June 26, 2024
The common thread running through this group is that four of these women competed in NCAA gymnastics after the Tokyo Olympics. Two of them, Wong and Carey, competed last season while training for elite-level skills. Wong has been a member of the past three world championship teams and earned All-American honors at the University of Florida. Carey, the reigning Olympic floor champion, performed 55 of 55 routines and earned seven perfect scores of 10.0 in 2023 at Oregon State.
“I've been very grateful for the last three weeks of training,” Wong said Wednesday. “It was a super quick change from the NCAA to the Classics and from the Classics to the Championships. I finally had time to train my elite routines. I've done everything I can in the gym and now it's time to have fun.”
Despite all these credentials, it looks like a maximum of two of these women will hear their names called on Sunday night.
Two more NCAA stars are ready for their five-ring moment
Fred Richard (University of Michigan) and Khoi Young (Stanford) both had breakout 2023 seasons on the men’s national team, becoming stars for their colleges. Richard, 20, and Young, 21, were part of the 2023 team that earned the country’s first world championship team medal since 2014, with Richard taking bronze in the all-around, becoming just the fourth (and youngest ever) American to do so back then. Both men are hoping to earn individual medals in Paris while also helping Team USA return to the Olympic podium for the first time since the 2008 team won bronze.
“It just keeps getting better and better.”
Frederick Richard continues his solid weekend in #XfinityChamps.
📺 @CNBC & @Peacock pic.twitter.com/8iytKFcMhY
— NBC Olympics and Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 2, 2024
