U.S. gymnastics Paris 2024 outlook: Simone Biles and Shilese Jones in control; veterans Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey remain hopeful
Forty-two days remain until USA Gymnastics will name its women’s Olympic team at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A deep field of contenders, led by seven-time Olympic medallist Simone Biles, had their first opportunity to make their case for a ticket to Paris 2024 Saturday (18 May) at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Connecticut.
They’ll be back on centre stage in less than two weeks at the U.S. championships in Dallas.
Here’s a look at what we learned after the first of three important pre-Olympic competitions.
The queen still reigns
Not that there was much doubt, but Biles is still queen.
The most decorated gymnast of all time with 37 world championships and Olympic medals, the 27-year-old looked as good as ever in Hartford, bringing back two difficult twisting elements not seen from her since Tokyo 2020 in 2021 – a triple-twisting double back flip on the floor exercise and a double-double off the uneven bars.
Biles also competed her daring Yurchenko double pike without coach Laurent Landi standing by for safety. Landi’s presence on the podium last season cost Biles a .500 neutral deduction. With him standing firmly on the floor Saturday evening, she soared to a massive 15.600 on the event.
"She's feeling good. She's looking good, and she's mentally and physically fit," said coach Cecile Landi afterward. "I don't know. I mean, you tell me how she looked. To me, it was great.
"I don't know if we can see it, but she is way more relaxed and enjoying competing and having fun," she continued. "And truly, I think she really found why she's doing it. And, I think for the very first time, it's truly for her."
Jones taking control
Second to Biles, Shilese Jones continued to prove she’s Team USA’s No. 2 athlete.
Jones was spectacular across all four events with the highlight coming on her dynamic uneven bars routine, which included a new-for-her laidout Jaeger release element. Her 15.250 was the highest by .700.
If Biles is a sure thing for Paris, Jones is the next closest.
Jones’ surge comes after a near miss in 2021, and coach Sarah Korngold says her pupil is going full steam ahead.
"This is her journey and this is her gymnastics," Korngold told Olympics.com. “Nobody's going to get in her way. It's really cool to watch someone take charge and own their gymnastics; she's doing this 100 percent for her."
Never count out the veterans
Tokyo 2020 medallists Suni Lee, the Olympic all-around champion; Jade Carey, Olympic floor gold medal winner; and Jordan Chiles, a member of the silver-medal U.S. team; all had up-and-down 2023 seasons.
Last year, Lee was sidelined with a kidney-related health issue that took nearly a year to get under control, Carey struggled to put the final pieces together of her routines, and Chiles got a late start to her preparation after debating a return to elite gymnastics or staying at UCLA for her junior season.
In Hartford, the trio made all that seem like a distant memory and showed that they cannot be counted out.
Chiles was third in the all-around, while Carey was fourth, suffering a fall during her uneven bars routine. Meanwhile, Lee, who competed only on three events, was the balance beam winner.
These three have been there before and showed Saturday that they know what it will take for a return trip to the Games.
Questions abound for Gabby Douglas
2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas’ improbable comeback after eight years away from the sport didn’t get the boost she was looking for in Hartford.
The 28-year-old struggled in her opening routine on the uneven bars, not making it over the bar on two pirouetting elements before coming off the apparatus twice. Douglas scored just a 10.100 and withdrew from the competition moments later.
At April’s American Classic, Douglas earned a three-event qualifying score to the U.S. championships later this month, but with basically just a week of turn around, does Douglas enough time to make enough improvement? And will she compete at the event after Saturday evening’s withdrawal?
Only time will tell.
Reset for nationals
While Biles, Jones, Lee, Chiles, and Carey made strong cases for themselves in Hartford, there are still a host of other contenders – many of whom need strong performances in the weeks ahead after not delivering their best on Saturday.
Ahead of the U.S. Classic, 2024 Winter Cup champion Kayla DiCello seemed like one of the biggest contenders for the U.S. squad, but in Hartford, she came off the uneven bars and sat down a tumbling pass. She finished tied for 10th place.
Skye Blakely, like DiCello, also came off the uneven bars and had a less than steady performance on the balance beam, her best apparatus. Despite finishing fifth overall, Blakley, who is a member of the last two U.S. World Championships teams, will want to show marked improvement next time out.
Fellow World Championships competitor Leanne Wong, who owns four World medals including an all-around silver in 2021, had a shaky outing on the balance beam with a 12.450 holding her down to seventh place in the all-around standings.
These three and the rest of Team USA’s gymnasts will get their next chance to make their Paris 2024 cases in less than two weeks.
The first day of women’s competition at the U.S. championships is Friday 31 May.