Simone Biles is just four routines away from securing her spot on her third Olympic team. Leading the pack after the first day of competition at the US Olympic Gymnastics Trials, Biles holds a 2.5-point advantage over her Olympic and club teammate Jordan Chiles. Reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee is currently in third place.
The final team for the Paris Olympics will be announced on Sunday, but the selection committee faces a challenging task after three top contenders were injured leading up to Friday’s competition. Kayla DiCello and Shilese Jones both suffered apparent injuries on the vault and had to be carried off by medical staff. USA Gymnastics later confirmed that DiCello ruptured her Achilles and will miss the remainder of the trials.
“While this is not the result I envisioned, there’s so much to be proud of,” DiCello shared in an Instagram post. “Years of tireless work and dedication in the gym with the dream of representing my country once more at the Olympic Games. Pushing myself to go after new skills, new dreams.” DiCello was an Olympic alternate for the women’s team in Tokyo.
Jones, the reigning world all-around bronze medalist, managed to compete on the uneven bars, scoring a 14.675, the highest bars score of the night. However, she limped off the podium and withdrew from the rest of the meet. The status of Jones’ and DiCello’s Olympic dreams remains uncertain. Additionally, Skye Blakely, a 19-year-old Texas native, suffered a season-ending Achilles rupture during podium training on Wednesday. The selection procedures prohibit athletes from filing petitions to be named to the Olympic team in case of injury.
Biles began her night with a clean set on bars but experienced a few wobbles on the balance beam. At the halfway point, it was unusual to see Biles not in the lead. She was three-tenths behind Leanne Wong, who debuted a new vault upgrade, the Cheng. Initially, Wong received a 2-point deduction for a one-handed takeoff, but she appealed her score and eventually received a 14.450.
A dominant performance on the floor brought Biles back to her familiar first-place standing. The crowd in the arena immediately rose to their feet during the fourth rotation as she landed her eponymous vault, a Yurchenko double pike, earning a 15.975, the highest score of the night by over a point. This skill is currently the most difficult and jaw-dropping piece of women’s gymnastics being performed globally. Biles also executed a second vault, the Cheng, to demonstrate her prowess for the Olympic vault final, where two vaults are required.
Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, looked ready for Paris as she hit an upgraded bars routine with enormous difficulty, performing a Nabieva to a Bhardwaj and earning a 14.400. The selection committee will likely not want to leave that routine at home.
The top all-around finisher after two days of competition at the trials will secure an automatic spot on the five-member women’s Olympic team. The remaining four women competing in Paris will be determined by a selection committee, which will use the results from the trials and previous competitions to complete the team. Four Olympic alternates will also be named in Minneapolis, with two of them traveling to Paris to train with the team.
The U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will continue to air live on NBC and Peacock through Sunday.
Source: NBC News
