Current:Home > FinanceWho will make the US gymnastics team for 2024 Paris Olympics? Where Suni Lee, others stand -TradeWisdom
Who will make the US gymnastics team for 2024 Paris Olympics? Where Suni Lee, others stand
View
Date:2025-04-14 00:12:29
FORT WORTH, 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! (2)
Related
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Macklin Celebrini named top midseason prospect in 2024 NHL draft. Who has best lottery odds?
- Robot baristas and AI chefs caused a stir at CES 2024 as casino union workers fear for their jobs
- Lawmakers investigating UAPs, or UFOs, remain frustrated after closed-door briefing with government watchdog
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Pakistan effectively shuts the key crossing into Afghanistan to truck drivers
- U.S. warns of using dating apps after suspicious deaths of 8 Americans in Colombia
- From Elvis to Lisa Marie Presley, Inside the Shocking Pileup of Tragedy in One Iconic Family
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Washington coach Kalen DeBoer expected to replace Nick Saban at Alabama
Ranking
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- South Dakota House passes permanent sales tax cut bill
- Man dies, brother survives after both fall into freezing pond while ice fishing in New York
- The Maine Potato War of 1976
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Los Angeles man pleads not guilty to killing wife and her parents, putting body parts in trash
- Guatemalans hope for a peaceful transition of power with Bernardo Arévalo’s upcoming inauguration
- Justin Timberlake announces free surprise concert in Memphis: 'Going home'
Recommendation
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
Belarusian journalist goes on trial for covering protests, faces up to 6 years in prison
Simon Cowell’s Cute New Family Member Has Got a Talent for Puppy Dog Eyes
War in Gaza, election factor into some of the many events planned for MLK holiday
New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
Mike Tomlin pushing once-shaky Steelers to playoffs is coach's best performance yet
Seal poses in rare appearance with 4 kids on 'Book of Clarence' red carpet: See the photo
After years of delays, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ties the knot