Simone Biles is set to make her third Olympic team this weekend at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Minneapolis. The event is more of a formality for the GOAT, but who are the other gymnasts eyeing the Paris 2024 Games?
With the men’s team set to be named on Saturday and the women’s team on Sunday, here’s everything you need to know about the Olympic Trials and Team USA’s rising gymnastics stars.
How is the Olympic gymnastics team selected?
The top all-around finisher after two days of competition at the trials will automatically earn a spot on the five-member women’s Olympic team. The other four women competing in Paris will be determined by a selection committee, which will use results from the trials and previous competitions to complete the team.
Stream every moment and every medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Peacock, starting with the Opening Ceremony on July 26 at 12 p.m. ET.
Four Olympic alternates will also be named in Minneapolis, two of whom will travel to Paris to train with the team.
Building the U.S. team primarily revolves around the final team competition, where the team gold medal is awarded. Three gymnasts compete on each apparatus and all three scores count.
Selecting gymnasts who can maximize Team USA’s score in the three-on-three format is often compared to putting together a puzzle. Choosing the team isn’t always as simple as selecting the five highest-ranked all-around gymnasts at tryouts.
If the top five in the all-around all score well on vault and floor, for example, but weak on the uneven bars and balance beam, taking the top five gymnasts to Paris would leave the U.S. team vulnerable in those events. To maximize the team’s score, the selection committee could potentially select an athlete who may have finished lower in the all-around, but is the nation’s leading scorer on bars and beam.
On the men’s side, the five-member team competes on six apparatus. The automatic spot is more difficult to obtain, because a gymnast must finish first in the all-around and among the top three in at least three events. No male gymnast has accomplished this feat at the U.S. Championships in Fort Worth.
Who is in the running for the Olympic team?
There are 20 men and 16 women who will compete for an Olympic place this weekend. Leading contenders on the men’s side include national all-around champion Brody Malone, world all-around bronze medalist Fred Richard, Khoi Young, Yul Moldauer, Asher Hong, Donnell Whittenburg and Shane Wiskus.
The American men are seeking their first Olympic medal since 2008 after winning a silver at last year’s world championships.
While there are 15 female gymnasts participating in the trials, only about 11 are currently in discussions to make the Paris Olympic team.
Skye Blakely, 19, from Texas, was one of the favorites for the Paris team in those trials, but suffered a season-ending Achilles injury while training for the podium on Wednesday . She was a member of the gold medal-winning teams at the 2022 and 2023 world championships and recently finished second in the all-around behind Biles at the U.S. championships.
The pionneers
Simone Biles
Barring serious injury or other unforeseen calamities, Biles goes to Paris. She is the reigning world all-around champion and a 37-time world and Olympic medalist. Her scoring potential is the highest of any gymnast in the world and she is the favorite to win Olympic gold medals in the all-around, vault and floor exercise. For Biles, the trials are more about mental preparation, so she can simulate the pressure of an Olympic crowd before Paris.
Shilese Jones
Heading into the United States Championships a few weeks ago, many would have called this six-time world medalist a lock for the Parisian team. However, Jones’ status is a bit of a question mark heading into the trials after she withdrew from the championships due to a shoulder injury. At the Classic in May, she established herself as the strongest all-around gymnast in the country behind Biles, finishing second in the all-around and winning the uneven bars. If she gets close to that level in Minneapolis, Jones will most likely make her first Olympic team after falling short in 2021.
Sunny Lee
Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, is not as strong on all four apparatus as she was in Tokyo after battling kidney disease over the past year. However, her Paris prospects remain promising due to her medal potential on the balance beam and uneven bars.
Across both days of the U.S. Championships, Lee performed spectacular routines on the balance beam, cementing her potential as an asset that the U.S. could certainly use on this event in the team final. Lee hopes to improve her overall score to prove she can be counted on on all four events when needed, but her bars and beam might be enough for the selection committee to take her.
Major contenders
Jordan Chiles
Chiles fulfilled her Olympic dreams in 2021 by winning a silver medal in the team event at the Tokyo Games. Like some other gymnasts in this category, Chiles is a well-rounded all-around competitor, but she lacks a standout event. She is unlikely to medal individually at the Olympics if she were part of the team, but she can prove at trials that she can be counted on to cover any apparatus in the team competition.
If Biles, Jones, Blakely and Lee make the team, Chiles could secure fifth place on the team with a good score on floor exercises and a good all-around result over the two days of competition.
Jade Carey
Reigning Olympic floor champion Carey, in fine form, would complement this team in many ways. She is obviously strong on floor exercises and also has the potential for a medal on vault. Carey is a master at peaking at just the right time and showed off an Amanar vault in training. She is absolutely still looking for her second Olympic team.
Kayla DiCello
After being named an alternate for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, DiCello is back for another chance to realize her Olympic dream. She took a year off from competing in NCAA gymnastics for the University of Florida to return to her elite club and train for Paris. It appears that decision paid off for DiCello, whose bronze medal at the Championships had “Olympian” written all over it. She struggles with consistency at times, but if she nails 8/8 routines this weekend, this could be DiCello’s year.
Leanne Wong
After a disappointing performance at the Championships, Wong seemed on track to repeat as an Olympic alternate. During a practice session in Minneapolis on Wednesday, she threw a safe Cheng, potentially intercepting this story. Raising Wong’s difficulty could pay off if it succeeds, but last-minute upgrades aren’t always worth the risk.
Her gymnastics is breathtaking to watch and she will be hoping to regain her consistency from start to finish in the quad, having won a gold medal in the team event at the last two world championships and a silver medal in the individual all-around at the 2021 world championships.
Potential dark horses
Joscelyn Roberson
Roberson trains at the World Champions Center alongside Biles. She had a breakout 2023 and made the World Team last fall, although she was injured just before the team final. She is a “power gymnast” whose best events are floor and vault, but she is currently being beaten out by gymnasts with similar strengths.
Only Lincoln
Like Jones, Lincoln is returning from an injury and had to file a petition to participate in tryouts. She’s here primarily for one event, floor exercise, which also happens to be the weakest in the United States right now. It is very possible that Lincoln finishes in the top 3 of the event during the trials, but unfortunately he is not the strongest all-around gymnast.
The Lincoln floor would maximize the U.S. team’s scoring potential in the team final, but the selection committee might decide it’s too risky to bring in a gymnast who can’t set usable scores on bars and on the balance beam in case another team member falls.
Hezly Rivera
Before the Championships, very few people had this freshman senior on their Olympic team. After a surprise sixth place, she finds herself in the conversation for the Parisian team. She lacks international experience and her best events are the same as Lee’s, so she will likely be relegated to another position at this point. However, if top contenders struggle with consistency, Rivera could be a wild card pick for the team.
Tiana Sumanasekera
Queen of the balance beam and another training companion of the GOAT, Sumanasekera was one of the few gymnasts who nailed all of her routines at the championships. Joining the Paris team may not be an easy feat for her, but she could land another spot. The future is bright for the 16-year-old, who would have to wait until Los Angeles 2028 to try his luck at the Olympics on home soil.