The USA Gymnastics roster is officially set following the conclusion of the US Olympic Trials on Sunday. decorated Olympian Simone Biles and reigning world champion Brody Malone lead the women’s and men’s teams, respectively.
Reigning world bronze medalist Frederick Richard was the first to secure his place in the Paris-bound men’s team via automatic qualification. He met the requirement of finishing in the top three in three or more events, recording first place on high bar, second on parallel bars and third on floor exercise.
Biles will go into her third Olympic Games with a decisive score of 117.25 and is the oldest American gymnast to go to the Games. Joining Biles are three other Olympians — Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles — and 16-year-old world junior silver medalist Hezly Rivera.
Following her qualification, Biles reflected on her journey back to the Olympics after leaving the Tokyo games early due to “upheavals.”
“I knew I wasn’t done after the performances in Tokyo, so just getting back in the gym, working hard and trusting the process with (coaches) Cécile (Canqueteau-Landi) and Laurent (Landi), I knew I would be back.” , she told NBC.
Malone started the races with a bang, taking first place in the first, third and fourth rotations. But Richard eventually overcame a slow start to finish the day at the top of the leaderboard. He finished the first day with 85.6, beating Malone by just half a point. Richard’s strong performance continued on Saturday when he refused to give up the lead and finished the races with an overall score of 170.60, just 0.20 points better than Malone.
Richard and Malone will be joined by three newcomers — 2022 World Team Bronze Medalists Asher Hong and Paul Juda and 2021 World Pommel Horse Champion Stephen Nedoroscik. Hong finished first in the still rings with a score of 29.15, while Juda placed second in the floor exercise (28.85) and third in the pommel horse (28.30). Malone tied for second in her feature event, the chin-up, finishing with a score of 27.45.
Biles set the tone early in the women’s judging. Despite placing second behind Leanne Wong in the first two rotations, she led by the end of the third (42.925) and didn’t look back from there. Biles led after the first day with a score of 58.90, while Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee posted scores of 56.40 and 56.025 to round out the top three.
The women’s team’s second day of testing began and ended in a similar fashion – Biles’ dominance. Despite struggling on the high bar, Biles impressed on the floor exercise, leaping 12 feet into the air with her triple twist double tuck and landing with a score of 14.725. After Biles’ top score of 117.25, the rest of the finalists were grouped with scores of 111.675 for Lee, 111.425 for Chiles, 111.350 for Carey and 111.150 for Rivera.
Injuries overshadow Olympic qualifiers
The US Gymnastics Olympic Trials also caused injuries to several competitors. Kayla DiCello suffered a leg injury on her first jump on the first day and left in a wheelchair. Shilese Jones was injured in the warm-up and also withdrew from the Olympics. She also competed on the uneven bars in the second rotation, recording a score of 14.625. After further evaluation by team doctors on Saturday, he was removed from Sunday’s competition.
Injuries were a hot topic even before the events began, with Skye Blakely — a top Olympic contender — tearing her right Achilles tendon during her floor exercise in podium practice on Wednesday.
In an Instagram post following her injury, Blakely wrote, “This is not how I envisioned my Olympic trials or how my season would end. I am devastated and heartbroken, but I believe everything happens for a reason. I was so close to achieving my dream, but this injury was unavoidable. I had an incredible season that I am extremely grateful for. (The) plans we have for ourselves are not always the plans God has for us. I will keep my chin up and be proud of the statement I made to myself over the past two years. I will be back.”
Full 2024 USA Gymnastics Olympic Team Roster
Men’s Team
Frederico Ricardo
Brody Malone
Asher Hong
Paul Judah
Khoi Young (substitute)
Shane Wiskus (substitute)
Women’s Team
Simone Biles
Jordan peppers
Jade Carey
Hezly Rivera
Suni Lee
Joscelyn Roberson (alternate)
Leanne Wong (substitute)
The U.S. artistic gymnastics team begins competition in Paris on Saturday, July 27. Team finals are scheduled for July 29 and 30, while all-around finals take place on July 31 and August 1.
This story was originally published by CBS Sports on July 1, 2024.
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