The U.S. women’s gymnastics team is one of the best in the world and is expected to be in the running for gold yet again in 2024.
Team USA has medaled in women’s gymnastics at every Olympics since the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta. That includes three gold medals, three silver and one bronze, as the team established itself as one of the world’s powerhouse programs.
Beating Team USA in women’s gymnastics is not easy. Perhaps the only thing more difficult than that is making the squad itself.
Team USA has a plethora of talented gymnasts who could make an impact on the world’s biggest stage, but just five will get to represent the country at 2024 Olympics. There were originally 16 in attendance for the country’s Olympic trials, but they are down to 15 after Skye Blakely suffered an Achilles injury that will knock her out of the trials.
Even so, the selection committee will have its work cut out for it as the committee winnows the field down to five.
Simone Biles is a shoo-in to make the squad. The rest of the American women are scrapping for position on the roster bubble, with Suni Lee and Shilese Jones entering the trials well-positioned to state their cases for roster spots. Blakely’s injury throws an interesting wrinkle into the mix, as she was originally anticipated to make the final five for the United States.
Who will ultimately make the U.S. women’s gymnastics team for the 2024 Olympics? The Sporting News is projecting the five-woman field for the Paris Games while tracking the top scorers at the U.S. Olympic trials. Stay tuned for the latest updates about who could make the American squad.
MORE: How qualifying works for gymnasts at Team USA trials
Team USA gymnastics scoresFriday, June 28All-aroundRankGymnastScore1Simone Biles58.9002Jordan Chiles56.4003Suni Lee56.0254Jade Carey55.8255Joscelyn Roberson55.475VaultRankGymnastScore1Simone Biles15.9752Jade Carey14.6003Leanne Wong14.450T-4Joscelyn Roberson14.325T-4Jordan Chiles14.325FloorRankGymnastScore1Simone Biles14.8502Kaliya Lincoln14.1503Jordan Chiles14.1004Jade Carey14.0755Joscelyn Roberson13.925Uneven barsRankGymnastScore1Shilese Jones14.6752Simone Biles14.4253Suni Lee14.4004Jordan Chiles14.3505Hezly Rivera14.025BeamRankGymnastScore1Suni Lee14.4002Tiana Sumanasekera13.9503Joscelyn Roberson13.9254Hezly Rivera13.7005Simone Biles13.650Sunday, June 30All-aroundRankGymnastScore1 2 3 4 5 VaultRankGymnastScore1 2 3 4 5 FloorRankGymnastScore1 2 3 4 5 Uneven barsRankGymnastScore1 2 3 4 5 BeamRankGymnastScore1 2 3 4 5
MORE: How Suni Lee overcame rare kidney disease to fight for Olympic berth
Updated USA Gymnastics team projection for 2024 Olympics
The Sporting News projects these five gymnasts to qualify for Team USA, based on their current scores and performance at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics trials.
Simone BilesSuni LeeJade CareyJordan ChilesShilese Jones
These gymnasts are on the bubble, but find themselves on the outside looking in:
Leanne WongJoscelyn RobersonHezly RiveraTiana Sumanasekera
Kayla DiCello could also garner consideration if her injury — which knocked her out of the first day of the Olympic trials — isn’t serious.
Below is more information about the five gymnasts currently projected to make the team.
Simone BilesAll-around: 58.900 (1st)Vault: 15.975 (1st)Floor: 14.850 (1st)Uneven bars: 14.425 (2nd)Beam: 13.650 (5th)
There is no doubt Biles will be a part of Team USA for a third Olympics. She dominated the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, sweeping the four disciplines and all-around gold in a six-point victory over Skye Blakely.
Biles has 29 total gold medals at the Olympics, World Championships and the Pacific Rim Championships. She is arguably the greatest gymnast of all time, and it would be shocking for her not to be the automatic qualifier from the group of 16 women at the U.S. Olympic trials.
The only question is whether anyone can beat Biles on any of the four disciplines or if the 27-year-old will cruise to another all-around sweep.
Suni LeeAll-around: 56.025 (3rd)Vault: 13.525 (10th)Floor: 13.700 (7th)Uneven bars: 14.400 (3rd)Beam: 14.400 (1st)
There’s no way you can leave the reigning Olympic all-around gold medalist off the roster, right? Lee is still recovering from a kidney issue that prematurely ended her college career, but she performed well at both the Core Hydration Classic and the U.S. Championships.
Lee finished just 0.15 points behind Kayla DiCello for the all-around bronze in Fort Worth. This fourth-place finish came despite Lee working with downgraded routines and suffering a fall on the vault. As she continues to work back into form, she should only improve in each discipline.
Lee’s first-place showing on the beam at the first day of the Olympic trials should inspire hope that she can continue to dominate that event as well as the bars, especially as she continues to put in work on the latter apparatus. That makes her an ideal specialist in those two areas, while her serviceable vault and floor exercise scores could make her a strong all-around backup.
Jade CareyAll-around: 55.825 (4th)Vault: 14.600 (2nd)Floor: 14.075 (4th)Uneven bars: 13.575 (7th)Beam: 13.575 (7th)
Speaking of specialists, Carey was one of the best at the Tokyo Olympics. She made the 2021 team as an individual performer and brought home gold for her floor exercise routine. The Oregon State product is also a top-notch vaulter, as evidenced by her bronze finish at the U.S. Championships behind Biles and Blakely.
Carey’s floor routine at the U.S. Championships finished tied for fourth behind Biles, Kayla DiCello and Tiana Sumanasekera, but her ceiling in the discipline is sky-high. And if she makes it to Paris, she will be a threat to medal on the vault as well. Having her and Lee on the team to complement three all-around stars could be the winning formula for this USA squad.
Jordan ChilesAll-around: 56.400 (2nd)Vault: 14.325 (T-4th)Floor: 14.100 (3rd)Uneven bars: 14.350 (4th)Beam: 13.625 (6th)
There was expected to be a tightly contested battle for the final spots on Team USA’s roster. However, injuries have wiped out some of that depth, with Skye Blakely out for the Olympics, Shilese Jones being banged up and Kayla DiCello suffering an injury at the Olympic trials.
That should open the door for Jordan Chiles to make it back to the Olympics. The U.S. needs another all-around gymnast to pair with Biles and Jones; Chiles and Leanne Wong are the two best standing, but Chiles’ experience at the 2024 Olympics along with her strong all-around performance on Day 1 of the Olympics trials should give her the edge to make the final roster.
Had Blakely, DiCello and Jones all remained healthy, that calculus could have changed, but Chiles appears to have moved herself inside the roster bubble with her strong showing on Friday.
Shilese JonesAll-around: 14.675 (14th)Vault: DNPFloor: DNPUneven bars: 14.675 (1st)Beam: DNP
Jones seemed closest to locking down a spot for the 2024 Olympics entering the U.S. Championships. However, a shoulder injury prevented her from participating in the event, and she had to petition the U.S. Olympic Committee to be allowed to participate in the Olympic trials.
Jones received that opportunity, but it will be imperative for her to show she’s healthy over the weekend.
The bad news for Jones’ case: She participated only on the uneven bars on Day 1 of the trials after suffering an apparent leg injury while warming up on the vault. She may be viewed as a specialist if she can’t perform on another apparatus on Sunday. That may impact her overall standing with the selection committee.
The good news? Jones placed first on the uneven bars even despite her injury. If she does well again on Sunday, the committee may consider rostering her as a specialist with all-around upside if she can get healthy. After all, the 21-year-old has developed into a star and won the all-around bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp. She was also a gold medalist in back-to-back years at the event as part of Team USA, so that experience could prove valuable.
The committee is in an unenviable position when it comes to assessing Jones, so it will be interesting to see which path they choose, especially with two of her most natural replacements — Blakely and DiCello — also hurt. If they opt not to roster Jones, however, Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson may find themselves in a battle to replace her on the five-woman team.
MORE: Who is Shilese Jones? What to know about Team USA hopeful for 2024 Olympics
This roster projection will be updated throughout the U.S. Olympic trials.
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Publish date : 2024-06-28 22:26:15
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