Led by Jordan Chiles, mix of veterans, newcomers take centre stage as sixth-straight USA women's title looms at Pan Am Games
The powerhouse U.S. squad seeks its 15th overall women's team gold in artistic gymnastics.
Artistic Gymnastics
Three weeks after the U.S. women, led by 30-time World medallist Simone Biles, captured an unprecedented seventh-straight team gold medal at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, a second squad led by Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist Jordan Chiles takes centre stage at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, hoping to make their mark and extend another historic streak for Team USA.
The U.S. women have won 14 of the 16 team titles awarded in gymnastics at the Pan American Games, including the last five in a row – a streak that dates back to the 2003 edition in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Chiles will be joined by a mix of veterans and newcomers with Tokyo 2020 alternate and 2021 World all-around bronze medallist Kayla DiCello, Kaliya Lincoln, Zoe Miller and Tiana Sumanasekera rounding out the squad.
After missing out on the U.S. team for the Worlds, Chiles will be determined to deliver a performance in Chile that shows she is still a force to be reckoned with as Paris 2024 nears.
“Although the outcome of my performance wasn’t how I wanted it to turn out, I am beyond excited to head to Pan Ams for my first time ever!” the 22-year-old wrote in a post on Instagram, following the U.S. selection competition in late September that saw Chiles suffer errors on the balance beam and floor exercise. “Chiles is headed to Chile.”
The late season event comes in a year where Chiles questioned her path, debating between leaving her UCLA Bruin teammates behind as she trained for Paris or continuing to compete in the NCAA.
A girls’ trip to Hawaii convinced her to pursue a second trip to the Games, a goal she says feels different this time around.
“I’m thinking of less pressure because I’m like, ‘I’ve done it once. I can do it again,” Chiles told Olympics.com last month. “I’m very relaxed going into this. I’m doing whatever I can just to make sure that I’m okay within myself.”
DiCello returns to international stage
For DiCello, the 2023 Pan Am Games will be her first international event since 2022 Pan American Gymnastics Championships where she took gold on the floor and silver with the team.
The Maryland-native had stepped away from elite gymnastics in 2022, opting out of the U.S. world selection event that season despite having finished fourth in the all-around at the U.S. Championships.
Instead, she focused on her freshman campaign as a member of the University of Florida women’s gymnastics team. DiCello was a major part of their second place finish at this year’s NCAA Championships in April.
But a week after the NCAAs, she announced she’d be returning home to train for the Paris Games.
“I want to share my decision to take a gap year and train at home and pursue my goal of the 2024 Olympics,” she wrote in a post on social media.
DiCello has been on an upward trajectory, finishing eighth all-around at the U.S. nationals and then seventh at the selection event three weeks later. She served as the traveling alternate at the Worlds.
Rising stars Miller, Sumanasekera and Lincoln look to seize the opportunity
Miller and Sumanasekera were part of the U.S. team that won gold at the 2023 Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Medellin, Colombia, with Sumanasekera taking all-around and balance beam golds, as well.
Trainingmates with Biles at World Champions Centre in Houston, Texas, the duo will be looking to impress ahead of next year’s Olympic season.
Miller will likely contend for an individual medal on the uneven bars, the apparatus on which she struck gold at the 2023 U.S. Classic, while Sumanaskera has potential to challenge in the all-around, balance beam and floor exercise finals.
17-year-old Lincoln is making her senior international debut after an impressive domestic season that saw her finish second on the floor exercise at both the U.S. Classic and the U.S. nationals. At those events, only Biles outscored her.
With Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and Flavia Saraiva, both of whom captured medals on the floor exercise at the recent World Championships, Lincoln will have the opportunity to compete with some of the best in Santiago.