Updated 6-27-24
By Christy Sandmaier and Megan Roth
Game On! Minneapolis is officially Gymnastics City USA from June 21-30.
With only five positions available for an elusive Olympic ticket, what we’re about to see is without question the most historic, competitive, and undeniably exciting field for the U.S. women we’ve ever seen assembled on one floor. It’s certainly the most decorated! In May at the Core Hydration Classic in Hartford, 15 Olympic Medals, 62 World Medals, and 11 Pan Am Games Medals were represented. It was absolutely unprecedented as the three most recent Olympic All-Around Champions—Sunisa Lee (2020), Simone Biles (2016), and Gabby Douglas (2012) took the floor for the very first time together along with 2020 Olympic floor gold medalist Jade Carey, two-time World All-Around medalist (silver in 2022, bronze in 2023) Shilese Jones, two-time World team gold medalist (2022 and 2023) Skye Blakely, 2020 Olympic alternate and 2021 World All-Around silver medalist Leanne Wong, Olympic team silver medalist Jordan Chiles, 2023 World team gold medalist Joscelyn Roberson, 2020 Olympic alternate and 2023 Pan American Games All-Around Champion Kayla DiCello, 2022 U.S. All-Around Champion Konnor McClain, and 2022 NCAA All-Around Champion, 34-time NCAA All-American, and NCAA Career 10.0 co-leader Trinity Thomas.
What’s happened since then is fitting of an Olympic year Hollywood script.
HEARTBREAK
In Hartford, we saw the Olympic picture shift very quickly, where heartbreak fell on Konnor McClain first. After a stunning beam set which placed her third in the field, McClain went to floor and suffered an Achilles injury, leaving her on the sidelines for the remainder of the competition and presumably ending her road to Paris. We saw joy and confidence build throughout her freshman season at LSU, and wish her a healthy, speedy recovery. It was something to see her cheer on her teammates the rest of the way in Hartford—endearing herself even more to us and her fans.
Also at Classics, after two falls on bars, Gabby Douglas pulled out of the meet and later withdrew from U.S. Championships, citing an ankle injury. Her comeback was inspiring and while it’s clear her skills were ready, the timing was just not right. “I love this sport and I love pushing my limits,” Douglas told ESPN. “I hope I can inspire both my peers and the next generation of gymnasts that age is just a number, and you can accomplish anything you work hard for.” She will continue training for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles she said, and we hope she is able to keep growing her joy for the sport despite disappointment this year.
At the Xfinity U.S. Championships, Trinity Thomas landed short on two tumbling passes that led her to withdraw from day 1 of the competition. While she was able to fight through a bar routine on day 2, she was not named to compete at Olympic Trials. Thomas is not just one of the most successful NCAA gymnasts of all time, but she also was one of the first gymnasts in recent years to train Elite and NCAA routines simultaneously. She has not officially announced retirement and we look forward to seeing what the sport has in store for her next!
Following a stellar second place showing at the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Championships, Skye Blakely appeared to be right in line behind Biles, Jones, and Lee for being all but locked on the 2024 Olympic team. Wednesday in Minneapolis, while training a double layout on floor in podium training, Blakely fell, injuring her Achilles (at a distance, it appeared to have given way on the takeoff), and ultimately ending her 2024 Olympic dream.
As USA Gymnastics staff swiftly responded, a clearly distraught Blakely was carried off the floor while covering her face with both hands. It was beyond heartbreaking, considering Blakely, who also withdrew from the 2021 Olympic Trials following an accident on vault, tearing her UCL, had looked phenomenal in training up until that point.
Heading into Minneapolis, the stars seemed to be aligning. This was supposed to be Blakely’s time. But it was not to be. It’s a tough lesson and at the very least, a very cruel one for any athlete so close to making their Olympic dream a reality.
We wish Skye (and her team of supporters) the best in the coming moments of diagnosis, decision-making, and health.
AT THE TOP
Before the start of the Xfinity U.S. Championships, Shilese Jones grabbed the headlines when she withdrew from the competition, citing a shoulder flare up. Jones and her coach Sarah Korngold explained that if it were Olympic Trials, she would’ve competed, but because she has long-term goals, it was in her best interest to pull out of the meet to recover and put herself in the best position heading into trials. Jones successfully petitioned to compete at Trials and as long as she performs similarly to how she did at Classics, her spot on the Olympic team should be secure. She struggled a bit in training on Wednesday, but Korngold confirmed to Inside Gymnastics Thursday night that Jones would be doing all four events at Trials.
Along with Jones, Simone Biles has all but locked her position to Paris, with the question marks surrounding the remaining three spots for the team. In Fort Worth, Biles easily secured her 9th U.S. All-Around title, scoring 60.450 on day 1 and 59.300 on day 2. She also swept every event in a record-setting and unbelievably dominant performance, even by Biles’ standards. Her Yurchenko double pike on day 1 was the best we’ve ever seen from her in competition and her beam is looking as steady and confident as ever. Back on floor was the the triple double, proving once again she’s ready with limitless possibilities in what she can accomplish from here. You get the feeling she’s just getting started… .
