Konnor McClain: “I’ll definitely be at U.S. Classic and compete there"
Ask 2022 U.S. all-around champion Konnor McClain about her upcoming elite gymnastics competition plans and she won’t hesitate.
“I’ll definitely be at U.S. Classic and compete there,” she told Olympics.com this week during an exclusive interview. “The goal is to do the all-around.”
The U.S. Classic, 17-18 May in Hartford, Connecticut, is the final qualifier for the U.S. Championships. According to USA Gymnastics' women's program rules and policies, McClain is eligible to petition to the event as a former elite.
The 19-year-old is in the midst of a successful freshman year as part of the Louisiana State University women’s gymnastics team. Throughout much of the season, McClain has contributed for the second-ranked Tigers on three events: the uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
She’s scored three perfect 10.0s in her first year of collegiate competition.
With the season winding down with next week’s Regional Championships and the NCAAs scheduled for 18-20 April, McClain is starting to contemplate the four-week turnaround between the end of the collegiate season and the start of a series of three U.S. elite competitions (U.S. Classic, U.S. Championships, and the U.S. Olympic trials). That period will determine the five women who will represent Team USA at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
“Me and [LSU head coach] Jay [Clark] have talked about it a lot recently, just like what I’m going to do and how my plan after season is going to go,” explained McClain. “We’ve kind of mapped it out a little bit just to prepare and make sure we both know what’s going so we don’t lose track. We do have a plan.”
McClain’s last elite competition was the U.S. championships in 2022, which she won. But back and hand injuries kept her out of the 2022 World Championships and subsequent elite season.
Stay tuned to Olympics.com next week for more from our interview with McClain.
2023 World junior all-around silver medallist Yamaguchi Sara out of Paris 2024 contention
Japan’s Yamaguchi Sara announced last week that she will miss the upcoming All-Japan Championships and, subsequently, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 after suffering a second torn ACL in as many years.
“The reason I withdrew [from All-Japan] was because I re-injured my left knee during podium training,” Yamaguchi wrote in a post on Instagram. “The diagnosis was a torn anterior cruciate ligament in my left knee.
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to show my performance to the people who have supported me over the past year,” she continued. “When I got injured at All-Japan last year, I was able to immediately look forward to Paris, and I’ve been working hard on rehabilitation and training over the past year. However, I was unable to achieve my goal of the Paris Olympics, and it took me some time to sort out my feelings.”
The 15-year-old is a rising star in the sport in Japan. As a junior, she finished 10th at the 2022 All-Japan Championships and eighth at the NHK Cup. Her international debut at the 2023 Junior World Championships yielded team gold and all-around silver, marking her as one to watch.
She led the all-around standings after the first of two days of competition at last year’s All-Japan Championships, but her ACL tear there kept her out of the final day of competition.
“I would like to take my time to return to the sport, and I’m aiming for the Olympics again in four years,” Yamaguchi wrote on Instagram. “From now on, I look forward to your continual support."
From the vault…
This week, we take a look back at Team Spain on the uneven bars during the women’s team final at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Susana Garcia was the team’s highest scorer on the bars, recording a 9.687. The squad finished fourth overall.