2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool: Preview, schedule, stars and how to watch at Paris 2024 qualifier

The first artistic gymnastics qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has arrived.

The three women's and three men's team medal-winning squads will earn five-member team berths to the Games at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, set to get underway 29 October to 6 November in Liverpool, England.

In addition to tickets to Paris, there will be world titles up-for-grabs in team, all-around and individual events.

Olympics.com will be there, bringing fans all the action online and on social media. Ahead of competition, here's everything to know about the event including stars to watch, a complete schedule and how to watch.

Stars to watch: 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Liverpool, England

The women of Team USA enter the world championships having won each of the last five team titles, led by greats like Olympic all-around gold medal winners Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee, who are both currently not training elite gymnastics but haven't ruled out a return to the sport.

To capture their sixth-straight title, something no other women's team has done at the worlds, they'll rely on a mix of newcomers like Shilese Jones and veterans such as Olympic floor champion Jade Carey and Tokyo 2020 team silver medallist Jordan Chiles. Despite the loss of U.S. champion Konnor McClain to a back injury, the U.S. must be considered the favourites for gold in Liverpool, even if it is likely to be by a smaller margin they have enjoyed in recent years.

They'll face stiff challenges from Brazil, led by 2020 Olympic vault champion Rebeca Andrade and two-time Olympian Flavia Saraiva. The squad defeated the U.S. at this summer's Pan American Championships, though the U.S. did not send its strongest athletes. Immensely talented, they have faced issues of inconsistency in the past that could keep them from the top step of the podium.

Perennial power China, 2022 European team champions Italy and Tokyo team bronze medallist Great Britain should also challenge for the podium. Italy, however, will have to do so without Asia D'Amato, the European all-around winner, and Angela Andreoli, who won individual bronze on floor. Both will miss the event due to injury.

In the individual women's competitions, Andrade has shown she is likely the one to beat though she has been selective with her all-around performances in 2022, only competing on the floor exercise twice thus far this season. If she falters, look to Team USA's Chiles and Jones to capitalize. Other contenders include China's Tang Xijing, the 2019 silver medallist, and Great Britain's Alice Kinsella, who finished with silver at the Europeans, and Jessica Gadirova, the two-time European floor champion.

Other athletes to keep a watch on including reigning Olympic uneven bars champion Nina Derwael, who will be competing in her first international event since her historic gold at Tokyo 2020.

The battle for the men's gold medal will come down to China and Japan. Though neither squad has competed much internationally in the 2022 season, China scored a nearly six-point victory over the Japanese at the 2022 Asian Gymnastics Championships.

The U.S. come to Liverpool hoping their increased focus on difficult will let them land on the team podium for the first time since they took bronze at the 2014 worlds. They'll face competition from Great Britain, which last won a men's team world medal, a silver, in 2015.

Individually, expect to see the next chapter in the budding rivalry between reigning Olympic all-around champion Hashimoto Daiki of Japan and reigning world all-around champion Zhang Boheng of China. A year ago, Boheng slipped past Hashimoto by just 0.017. Other all-around contenders include the Philippines' Carlos Yulo, two-time U.S. champion Brody Malone and 2022 European all-around gold medallist Joe Fraser of Great Britain.

Reigning Olympic champion Artem Dolgopyat, floor exercise, and Zou Jingyuan, parallel bars, will be seeking more global glory alongside Turkey's Adem Asil and Ferhat Arıcan, Brazil's Caio Souza, and reigning world pommel horse champion Stephen Nedoroscik, who could all make a splash in the individual competitions.

Schedule: 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Liverpool, England

Qualifying competition runs 29-31 October with the first medals awarded 1 November. Below is the complete schedule for the event with all times local to the event.

Saturday, 29 October

• 19:55-22:50: Women's qualifying (Belgium, United States, Romania, Spain)

Sunday, 30 October

• 9:15-15:35: Women's qualifying (Korea, Ukraine, Sweden, Australia, Hungary, Canada, China, Mexico, France)
• 16:45-23:05: Women's qualifying (Finland, Netherlands, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, Great Britain, Austria)

Monday, 31 October

• 9:15-17:45: Men's qualifying (Austria, United States, Canada, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, Korea, Great Britain, China, Spain, Japan, Ukraine, Romania, Netherlands, Italy, Colombia, Brazil)
• 18:45-22:55: Men's qualifying (Turkey, Egypt, Germany, Belgium, Australia, France, Hungary)

Tuesday, 1 November

• 18:15-21:05: Women's team final

Wednesday, 2 November

• 17:25-20:50: Men's team final

Thursday, 3 November

• 18:30-21:15: Women's all-around final

Friday, 4 November

• 17:45-21:10: Men's all-around final

Saturday, 5 November

• 13:15-18:10: Apparatus finals, day 1 (men's floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings; women's vault, uneven bars)

Sunday, 6 November

• 13:15-18:10: Apparatus finals, day 2 (men's vault, parallel bars, high bar; women's balance beam, floor exercise)

How to watch: 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Liverpool, England

The 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships will be shown around the world on television. Fans in some territories can catch the action on the International Gymnastics Federation's YouTube channel and right here on Olympics.com.