The Paris-bound US gymnastics team will soon be selected, with the 2024 US Olympic Gymnastics Trials beginning tonight.
The women’s competition will take place Friday and Sunday, with 16 athletes competing for five available roster spots. Four alternates will also be named, with two of them traveling with the team to Paris.
While performance at Trials weighs heavily, a top-five table finish does not guarantee an Olympic berth. Only the gymnast that wins the all-around will be guaranteed a ticket, while the remaining four team members will be selected by a three-person committee.
Among selection criteria include difficulty scores, as well as results and consistency across all competitions extending back to last fall’s World Championships.
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles leads the contingent, having earned a record-extending ninth US all-around title earlier this month. Three of her Olympic teammates are also looking for another shot: Jordan Chiles, Tokyo gold medalist on floor Jade Carey, and reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee, who’s now in remission after chronic kidney disease nearly ended her gymnastics career.
Skye Blakely, who many predicted would make the Olympic cut this weekend, has been ruled out of the competition after suffering an Achilles injury during a Wednesday training session. The second-place finisher in the all-around at the US Championships, Blakely is not allowed to submit a petition for a spot on the Olympic team. Selection procedures only allow for a petition under an illness or “extenuating circumstance,” with petitions because of injury not accepted.
Others going after a spot include Shilese Jones, a six-time World medalist, as well as four-time World medalist Leanne Wong and 2023 Pan Am Games all-around champion Kayla DiCello.
The US Olympic Gymnastics Trials women’s competition starts at 8 PM ET on Friday, airing live on NBC and streaming on Peacock.