HARTFORD, Conn. – Simone Biles is kicking off the Olympic year in historic fashion.
The Rio Games all-around gold medalist begins her season Saturday at the US Classic, where she will be joined by London champion Gabby Douglas and Tokyo winner Suni Lee. This is the first time that three Olympic all-around champions have competed together.
“It’s a really fun time,” Douglas, who is back after taking nearly eight years off, said Friday.
This meeting does not directly affect who will be on the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics. But that plays a role because it’s a qualifier for the national championships later this month in Fort Worth, Texas. Results at the national championships determine who will be invited to the Olympic trials, June 27-30 in Minneapolis.
How to watch the 2024 American Classic
Biles’ competition session will be broadcast live on CNBC and Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. NBC will also air a show recapping all the highlights from the US Classic at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.
More:How to watch gymnastics stars Simone Biles, Suni Lee and Gabby Douglas at the 2024 US Classic
Sighting a double pike Yurchenko (aka Biles II)
Simone Biles doesn’t leave room for anyone else.
Biles did the Yurchenko double pike – the Biles II on vault, for those keeping track – which would give him a big score anyway. But unlike last year, when she took a half-point deduction for asking coach Laurent Landi to stand on the receiving mat in case she was in danger of crashing, Landi was on the side.
Without deduction, Biles scored a whopping 15.6 – and that was after having to take several steps back to control his landing. It was one of only two scores in the competition above 15 — Shilese Jones had a 15.25 on the uneven bars — and gave Biles a 1.3-point lead heading into the final rotation.
2022 US champion Konnor McClain leaves US Classic in wheelchair
After a strong start to the evening on beam, Konnor McClain suffered an injury during his floor warm-up and was forced to withdraw from the US Classic.
NBC television cameras showed McClain, 19, being wheeled out of the arena in a wheelchair with tears in her eyes. She was in third place after scoring 14.200 on the balance beam in her first rotation.
NBC’s John Roethlisberger reported on air that McClain’s trainer, Courtney McCool Griffeth, told him “it’s an Achilles,” without providing additional information about the severity of the injury.
Biles is back
Biles brought back her triple-twisting double somersault – aka the Biles II – into her floor routine. It was one of the items she abandoned after the Tokyo Olympics, when a case of “twisties” caused her to lose track of where she was in the air and put her in danger. his physical safety.
Biles won her eighth U.S. title and sixth world title last year, both records, but she did so by removing some of her more difficult twisting elements from her routines. No more. The triple-double was her first ground pass and it was huge, so big that it bounced out of bounds. She smiled when she landed and finished the rest of her routine with power and polish.
His score of 14.8 gave him 29.35 at the halfway point of the competition. This is 0.25 points behind Shilese Jones, all-around medalist at the last two world championships. But Jones had his two most notable events while Biles still has the vault.
Gabby Douglas scratches herself after an event
Gabby Douglas’ performance at the US Classic was short.
Douglas was scratched after the first event Saturday night. No reason was given, but she fell off the uneven bars twice.
The 2012 Olympic champion, who hopes to make the Paris team eight years after her last competition, was trying to qualify for the all-around at the national championships in two weeks. She is already qualified to compete in three events – vault, balance beam and bars – but she needed to score 51 or higher to compete in all four national events. With a 10.1 on bars, this was going to be a tough task.
Learn more:Gabby Douglas out of the US Classic after an event. What happened and where she stands for nationals
Simone Biles starts Olympic season strong
Biles scored a 14.55 on beam, her first event at the US Classic. There are still three events to go, but she has a 0.20 lead over Shilese Jones with the vault and floor exercises, her two highest-scoring events, still to come.
This is of course no surprise. Biles is the best ever, returning to competition for the first time since last year’s Tokyo Olympics and winning her eighth national title and sixth world title, both records. As long as she plays her game, no one will beat her.
But honestly, everyone in the United States knows that. The other women are just hoping to claim the four remaining spots on the team.
Difficult beginnings for Gabby Douglas
It was a difficult start for Gabby Douglas, who is trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics eight years after her last participation. Starting on the uneven bars, her flagship event, Douglas lost her balance during a pirouette. She managed to save him, but couldn’t get her rhythm back and broke away. She got up but fell back down a few seconds later. With fans — many of whom weren’t even alive when she won gold at the 2012 London Games — chanting her name, Douglas got up and completed her routine.
Douglas earned a score of 10.1, which will hurt his chances of qualifying for the all-around at the national championships in two weeks. She’s already qualified to compete in three events at nationals, but she needs a 51 or higher here to qualify for the all-around. (She could also apply to participate in all four events.)
A historic competition with 3 Olympic all-around champions
This is the first time that three Olympic all-around champions – Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Suni Lee – have competed together. But to put things into perspective, when Douglas joined the Rio team, she became the first reigning all-around champion since Nadia Comaneci in 1980 to compete in the next Olympics. Biles obviously did the same thing in Tokyo.
Biles, Douglas and Carey embark on marquee events
There will be fireworks early. Gabby Douglas begins on the uneven bars, her flagship event, while Simone Biles moves up to the beam, where she is the reigning world champion. Oh, and Jade Carey starts floor exercise, where she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Sit back and grab the popcorn. This is going to be fun.
Fans Fight Over Biles Before Event Starts
There’s still an hour before the competition starts and the XL Center isn’t even close to being half full. But the fans are already LOUD. When Simone Biles performed her Yurchenko double pike – also known as Biles II – the cheers were deafening.
What to expect from Biles, Lee and Douglas
Biles already qualified for the national championships as a member of the U.S. team that won a seventh straight title at last year’s world championships. But she takes advantage of this meeting to test her routines. She brought back her triple twist, her double somersault on the floor, also known as Biles II, as well as the double-double descent on the uneven bars.
She also has new floor choreography, by French choreographer Gregory Milan.
Lee had originally planned to make the all-around, which would have been her first since having to cut short her final season at Auburn due to kidney disease more than a year ago. She did bars and beam at the Winter Cup in February, and vault and beam at the American Classic last month. But Lee chose not to do bars here, but instead to do vault, beam and floor.
Douglas qualified to compete in three events at the national championships thanks to her performance at the American Classic, but she hopes to improve so she can compete in the all-around.
Who is participating in the US Classic?
Gymnasts like to get together to work their nerves and have their routines judged before things start counting, so almost everyone is there. Biles and Shilese Jones, all-around medalists at the last two world championships, make their season debuts, as do Tokyo floor gold medalist Jade Carey and 2022 U.S. champion Konnor McClain, whose LSU team won the NCAA title last month.
How do you get on the US Olympic team?
The best all-rounder at the Olympic trials, probably Biles, is guaranteed a place in Paris. The remaining four gymnasts, along with two alternates, are chosen by a selection committee based on their performance this year, their scoring potential and their contribution to qualifications and team finals.
Unlike other sports, such as swimming and track and field, gymnastics teams cannot be chosen based solely on results or ranking order. In Olympic qualifying, teams compete against four athletes in each event and can achieve the lowest score. But in the team finals, only three athletes compete in each event and all three scores are taken into account. This means that teams must be built to produce the highest scoring potential and consistency across all four events.
And after?
The U.S. Championships are less than two weeks away, May 30-June 2 in Forth Worth, Texas. The Olympic trials will take place June 27-30 in Minneapolis. The Paris Olympics begin on July 26 and the women’s competition will begin two days later with qualifying.