Everything you need to know about Gabby Douglas and Sunisa Lee’s return to competition at the 2024 Winter Cup

Nearly 40 senior women are set to compete at the 2024 Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, but all eyes will likely be on just two: Olympic all-around winners Gabby Douglas, who took the crown at London 2012, and reigning champ Sunisa Lee.

The duo are set to make their competitive gymnastics returns at the event, the first for Douglas since the Rio Games. Lee last competed at the 2023 U.S. championships but withdrew from a subsequent World Championships selection event.

Below is a complete preview of the Winter Cup, including stars to watch, the schedule and how watch the action live as the U.S. elite gymnastics season kicks off the road to Paris 2024.

• Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas will make competitive return at Winter Cup later this month
• Olympic all-around winner Suni Lee returns to competition at Winter Cup

2024 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup preview – Sunisa Lee and Gabby Douglas in the spotlight

Douglas, who announced her intentions to try for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games last July, has not competed since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, where she helped Team USA to a gold medal. She also has team and all-around Olympic titles from London 2012.

She says the U.S. nationals two years ago stirred up her competitive fire.

"I was watching the 2022 [U.S.] championships, and I was like, 'Man, I miss competing.' And, I was trying to figure out how to get like, this... I'm still a competitor at heart.... I can get this out of me, and so I decided to start back training," Douglas told Hallie Jackson on NBC News Now. "I can't believe I'm in this sport again."

Meanwhile, Lee hasn't competed since withdrawing from last September's U.S. World team selection event. She was dealing with the effects of a kidney-related health issue, which, she told Olympics.com, caused her hands to swell so much that she couldn't put on her uneven bars grips some days.

But, the 20-year-old took part in a recent U.S. training camp where she looked solid as ever on the balance beam. She also worked the second half of her uneven bars routine in the practice open to media.

It was her first camp appearance since missing the World trials.

"She's a great example of like a 'super senior'," said USA Gymnastics women's high performance strategic lead Alicia Sacramone, a 2008 Olympian. "She knows what she's doing. It's like riding a bike. Once you get back and you get in the swing of it, she'll be fine. It's just getting her physically back to where she wants to be."

2024 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup preview – Trinity Thomas, Kayla DiCello and others to watch

Another gymnast, Trinity Thomas, is also making her return to elite gymnastics at the Winter Cup.

Thomas, who tied the all-time NCAA 10.0 record in 2023, last competed at the elite level in 2019. Training videos shared by Thomas and coach Owen Field have shown enormous potential, especially on the uneven bars where she recently posted a full routine.

Two members of the U.S. team at last year’s Worlds, which nabbed a record seventh-straight global title, are set to compete: Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello, who served as the squad’s alternate before claiming team and all-around gold at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

DiCello’s Pan Ams teammate Kaliya Lincoln, the Pan American Games floor exercise champion, will be in Louisville, but Tokyo 2020 team silver medallist Jordan Chiles and Zoe Miller, who were part of Team USA's gold medal effort in Santiago, have withdrawn due to injury.

Competition at the Winter Cup will also feature men with World team members Paul Juda and Yul Moldauer, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, on the roster. Other men to keep an eye on include Olympian Shane Wiskus and 2021 World pommel horse champion Stephen Nedoroscik.

2024 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup – Sunisa Lee, Gabby Douglas’ complete schedule

Lee and Douglas are set to compete in the senior women’s session of the Winter Cup at 1pm Eastern Time on Saturday, 24 February.

Below is the complete schedule for the weekend, which includes Level 10 competitions for men (the Elite Team Cup) and women (the Nastia Liukin Cup).

All times Eastern.

Wednesday, 21 February

• 5:30-8 pm - Senior Men’s Podium Training

Thursday, 22 February

• 9:30am-12pm - Junior Women’s Podium Training

Friday, 23 February

• 8-10:30am - Senior Women’s Podium Training
• 1:30-4pm – Senior Men’s Day 1
• 7-9:30pm - Junior Women’s Competition

Saturday, 24 February

• 1-3:30pm - Senior Women’s Competition
• 6:30-9:30pm - Elite Team Cup

Sunday, 25 February

• 12-2:30pm - Nastia Liukin Cup
• 5:30-8pm - Senior Men’s Day 2

2024 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup – How to watch Sunisa Lee, Gabby Douglas live

USA Gymnastics will stream every session of the Winter Cup, Elite Team Cup and Nastia Liukin Cup live on its YouTube channel.

Select training sessions (noted above) ahead of each competition will be available on the federation’s pay-per-view streaming service FlipNow.tv.