Five Paris Olympics storylines to know from security to Simone Biles
The Paris Olympics are fast approaching. Here’s what you need to know about the first post-pandemic Games.
MINNEAPOLIS – Simone Biles is, unsurprisingly, atop the leaderboard after the first night of competition at the 2024 U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials.
Biles, the reigning world champion and resident GOAT, was a lock for the Paris team even before Friday night, but her leading score of 58.900 took her one step closer to it becoming official. Only the top all-around finisher at trials is guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team.
Jordan Chiles (56.400) and Suni Lee (56.025) are sitting in second and third entering Sunday night’s trials finale, when the five-member team will be finalized.
Beyond the leaderboard, the story of Friday night was the injuries. Shilese Jones, the reigning world bronze medalist, was already managing a long-term shoulder injury before she injured her left knee while landing a vault in warmups. The injury prompted her to compete only in uneven bars, where she was stellar, and raises questions about her fitness and health for Paris.
Kayla DiCello also sustained an injury on vault less than an hour later, and her injury could prove to be more serious. She left the floor in a wheelchair and immediately scratched from the remainder of the night.
Here’s how the action unfolded on the first night:
MINNEAPOLIS − If Jordan Chiles makes her second Olympic team, Beyonce, Megan Thee Stallion and GloRilla deserve some of the credit.
Chiles said she was having a rough practice Friday morning and it put her in a funk. She was overthinking and stressing out. As she got ready for the meet, however, she was listening to music and it changed her attitude.
“Megan, Beyonce, GloRilla, every girl artist you can think of was popping up. I was like, `You know what? If these girls can slay like this, I can go out there and slay like them,'” Chiles said. “So what I came in to do today was just to have fun and vibe with everybody.”
The inspiration worked. Chiles posted the second-highest score after Simone Biles, a 56.4. She also had the third-highest score on floor exercise and fourth-best on both vault and uneven bars.
The five-woman Olympic team will be named Sunday, after the second night of competition.
“This meet is stressful enough,” Chiles said. “So I might as well put some good energy out there.” −Nancy Armour
MINNEAPOLIS − The audience at the Olympic gymnastics trials knows greatness when they see it.
Simone Biles got a standing ovation from fans for her Yurchenko double pike. It doesn’t matter how many times she does it, it’s always jaw-dropping to see it in person.
Biles gets great height on the vault, and the power that’s needed to do it practically ripples off her as she flips. She had to take a step to control the landing, but that’s just nitpicking. The judges clearly agreed, giving her a 15.975 that included a 9.75 for execution.
Biles was happy with the effort, grinning as she trotted off the podium to exchange high fives with coach Laurent Landi. −Nancy Armour
MINNEAPOLIS — Call it carnage, chaos or just plain bad damn luck, the four women who join Simone Biles at the Paris Olympics might wind up being whoever’s healthy enough to make the trip.
In a 30-minute span Friday night, Shilese Jones suffered a knee injury that limited her to one event and Kayla DiCello was knocked out with an ankle injury. Meanwhile Skye Blakely, a member of the U.S. teams that won gold at the last two world championships, was hobbling around the floor on crutches because of the ruptured Achilles that occurred during training two days earlier.
Here’s more on how the injuries could impact the team for Paris from columnist Nancy Armour.
MINNEAPOLIS − Simone Biles’ floor routine remains masterful.
In the highest-scoring routine of the night so far, Biles put together another brilliant performance on floor, starting with an especially massive Biles II − one of several skills named after her − on her first pass. A slight step out of bounds on a subsequent pass was one of the few small blemishes in a routine that generated a score of 14.850 and boosted her into first place in the all-around standings.
Vault − and, most likely, Biles’ famed Yurchenko double pike − is all that’s standing between Biles and a first-place finish on the first night of trials.
Meanwhile, on balance beam, Suni Lee showed why she is still one of the best in the world, turning in a 14.400 despite a significant wobble on her flight series. She spent one or perhaps two seconds on one foot before regaining her balance, drawing awe from NBC’s broadcasting crew and a loud cheer from the crowd at Target Center. −Tom Schad
MINNEAPOLIS − Remember this moment, as it will likely be fleeting: Simone Biles is in second place through two rotations.
Biles had an uncharacteristically shaky showing on balance beam, nearly falling on her mount and taking a small hop on her dismount. Her score of 13.650 is solid by most gymnasts’ standards, but not her own. She turned in scores of 14.800 on both of her balance beam routines at nationals about a month ago.
Biles’ disgust could hardly have been more obvious after her beam performance, when the jumbotron cameras captured her clearly mouthing an expletive as she left the podium. (The expletive was not audible on NBC’s broadcast.)
Leanne Wong is, for now, atop the all-around leaderboard − and, with the injuries to Shilese Jones and Kayla DiCello, she is strengthening her case for Paris. Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee were sitting third and fourth, respectively, at the midway point of Friday’s competition. −Tom Schad
MINNEAPOLIS − Shilese Jones made her only event of the night a good one.
Jones, who injured her left knee in pre-meet warmups and scratched her first event, vault, delivered a world-class performance on uneven bars. Her score of 14.675 is the highest of the meet so far, and also means she can officially be considered by the selection committee. There are no injury petitions onto the team for the Paris Olympics, so gymnasts have to compete at trials.
Jones took a hop forward on her dismount, and then a hop to the side. After saluting the judges she was limping visibly, walking slowly to the end of the podium before sitting down. She scratched her remaining two events, balance beam and floor exercise, shortly after. −Nancy Armour
MINNEAPOLIS − Leave it to Simone Biles to bring a little sanity to a chaotic night at the Olympic trials.
After Shilese Jones hurt her leg in warmups, Kayla DiCello had to withdraw with a right ankle injury and Suni Lee avoided a scare when her hand slipped on the vault table, Biles delivered a terrific uneven bars routine. Her 14.25 put her atop the standings until Leanne Wong appealed her score on vault.
Wong had two points deducted for not pushing off the vault table with both hands. But her appeal was successful, boosting her score to 14.45.
Jordan Chiles, a Tokyo Olympian and Biles’ WCC teammate, is third with a 14.35 on bars.
Those are the highlights. The rest of the night has been a hot mess. DiCello, the first competitor of the night, did a tucked Yurchenko vualt and immediately rolled to her back, tears filling her eyes as she shook her head no. She was crying as she was wheeled off the floor. Lee, who is DiCello’s best friend, had to go next on vault and her hand slipped on the table. She was at least able to land her vault on her feet, but she was clearly upset afterward.
And Jones, considered almost as much of a lock as Biles for the Paris team, scratched vault after injuring her leg in pre-meet warmups. Jones’ first event was vault, and she did a test run on the podium before heading backstage with coach Sarah Korngold. She can still compete in the other three events. −Nancy Armour
MINNEAPOLIS − Shilese Jones walked off the floor during her warmup period on vault and has scratched from the event, per USA Gymnastics’ online scoring system.
Jones was speaking with her coach and members of the medical staff after sustaining a potential injury during warmups. She is due up next on uneven bars.
Meanwhile, USA Gymnastics announced that Kayla DiCello is out for the night after sustaining an injury of her own on the first vault of the night. −Tom Schad
MINNEAPOLIS – A scary moment for Suni Lee, whose hand slipped on the vault table. The reigning Olympic champion still managed to land her Yurchenko double on her feet, taking a step to the side.
MINNEAPOLIS – More worrisome news for the U.S. On the very first vault of the competition, Kayla DiCello sat down on her landing and appeared to sustain a right ankle injury. She was helped off the mat by members of the medical staff.
DiCello finished third in the all-around competition at nationals and is one of several gymnasts in the mix for a spot on the Paris Olympic team. The 20-year-old was an alternate on the Tokyo Olympic team.
When does Simone Biles compete at U.S. gymnastics Olympic trials?
Simone Biles is likely to compete her first rotation (uneven bars) shortly after 7:45 p.m. ET on Friday, then move in the order of events that is in place for Olympic competition − to balance beam, then floor exercise, then vault. On Sunday night, Biles will start on vault, with her first attempt around 8:20 p.m. ET. She will then go to uneven bars and balance beam before concluding on floor.
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U.S. gymnastics Olympic trials how to watch
Tonight’s coverage and this weekend − including the decisive Saturday and Sunday sessions − will be on NBC. The network will also show every minute of all four nights on its streaming service, Peacock, where it will offer both a general stream and apparatus-specific streams for viewers who are hoping to monitor a specific athlete.
U.S. gymnastics Olympic trials TV schedule
- Friday, 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET: Women’s competition, Day 1 (7:30-8 on Peacock, 8-10 on Peacock and NBC)
- Saturday, 3:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET: Men’s competition, Day 2 (NBC, Peacock)
- Sunday, 8:10 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET: Women’s competition, Day 2 (NBC, Peacock)
MINNEAPOLIS – Shilese Jones is good to go.
Jones, who is considered almost as much of a lock for the Paris team as Simone Biles, had to be helped off the floor after appearing to injure her knee during warmups. But USA Gymnastics announced “Shilese Jones will compete.” When Jones’ name was called, she ran out onto the podium, not looking as if anything is amiss.
Jones is already nursing a shoulder injury that kept her out of the national championships four weeks ago.
MINNEAPOLIS – Shilese Jones appeared to injure her left leg during warmups before the first night of Olympic trials.
Jones was practicing on vault when she landed awkwardly and rolled backward on the mat, grabbing her leg. Simone Biles, who was just across the way on uneven bars, immediately ran to check on Jones, who nodded at something Biles said to her.
Jones was able to walk off the floor with help from her coach and a medical staffer, but she was walking very gingerly.
Jones, an all-around medalist at the last two world championships, is considered almost as much of a lock for the Paris team as Biles. But she was already nursing a shoulder injury, which forced her to withdraw from the national championships.
MINNEAPOLIS − Skye Blakely was on the floor during warmups, on crutches and her right leg heavily bandaged.
Blakely ruptured her Achilles tendon during training on floor exercise on Wednesday. She landed a tumbling pass and immediately fell to the mat. She was sobbing as she was carried off the podium, and she had to be taken out of the arena in a wheelchair.
“This is not the way I saw my Olympic trials going or how my season ends,” Blakely said in an Instagram post Thursday. “I’m devastated and heartbroken but I believe everything happens for a reason. I was so close to reaching my dream but this injury was unavoidable.”
Blakely had been considered a strong contender for the Olympic team. She was part of the U.S. teams that won gold at the last two world championships, and her stock rose even higher after she debuted a monster new vault at the national championships earlier this month.
It’s not clear if she’ll continue competing at the elite level. She has already committed to Florida. −Nancy Armour
U.S. gymnastics Olympic trials announcers
Mike Tirico will host NBC’s coverage, and Terry Gannon (play-by-play) will be joined by analysts Tim Daggett, Samantha Peszek and John Roethlisberger on the call.
Simone Biles is a lock for Paris Olympics. But who’s going to join her?
The top contenders are: Shilese Jones, an all-around medalist at the last two world championships; reigning Olympic champion Suni Lee; Tokyo floor exercise gold medalist Jade Carey; and Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles. Also keep an eye on Kayla DiCello and Leanne Wong, two of the Tokyo alternates, and Josc Roberson, a member of last year’s worlds team. And if you’re looking for dark horses, Hezly Rivera and Tiana Sumanasekera could make things interesting.
Skye Blakely, a member of the last two world teams whose stock was rising after debuting a monster vault at the national championships, is out after an Achilles injury during podium training Wednesday. Read Nancy Armour’s full analysis on how Team USA might shake out.
How many spots are on U.S. gymnastics Olympic team?
There are five spots up for grabs on both the U.S. men’s and women’s gymnastics teams at the Olympic trials.
The women’s team will be named Sunday night.
Sunisa Lee’s health journey changed her gymnastics mindset. Here’s how
Suni Lee is in good shape to make the five-person U.S. team for the Paris Olympics. She was fourth at the national championships in early June and has upgraded her routines on uneven bars and floor since then. But a health crisis 15 months ago –– she developed a kidney disease that caused her to retain so much fluid she couldn’t even put on her grips –– has upended her life. There were days she couldn’t even get out of bed.
Lee said a phone call she got Jan. 4, the details she wants to keep private, was a turning point for her.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going back into the gym tomorrow and I’m going to be better than I ever was.’ That was the day I was like, ‘Yep, this is what I want. And I’m gonna put my mind into it,’” she said.
Read Nancy Armour’s full story on Suni Lee’s health journey.
Shilese Jones shoulder injury update
Shilese Jones is no longer feeling pain in her injured shoulder and “feels pretty good” ahead of this week’s U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, her coach Sarah Korngold said Wednesday.
Jones, who has established herself the United States’ top female gymnast outside of Simone Biles, withdrew from the U.S. championships about a month ago but successfully petitioned USA Gymnastics for her spot at trials, which begin Friday. She has been dealing with a small tear in her right labrum for approximately two years, Korngold said, and growing pain ahead of nationals led her to withdraw and take a week off as a precaution.
“We’ve slowly been building back up into routines. So she’s been doing her full routines,” Korngold said Wednesday.
Why Simone Biles is ‘close to unstoppable’ as she just keeps getting better with age
Here Simone Biles is at 27 at the U.S. gymnastics Olympic trials, better now than anyone, ever, has ever been in her sport. “I use the phrase, ‘Aging like fine wine,’” she joked in early June, after she’d extended her own record with her ninth U.S. championship. Perhaps the biggest difference at this stage of her career is that Biles’ mind and body are in sync. Read Nancy Armour’s full story on Simone Biles.
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