The 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony is just a month away, so it's finally time to pick the high-profile gymnastics teams who'll represent the United States in Paris. Many powerhouse Texan athletes — including several who train in Houston — are among the leading contenders.
The path to Paris ran through Fort Worth recently at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, where the top finishers earned their invitations to U.S. Olympic Team Trials. This weekend (June 27-30), they'll go flip-to-flip and vault-to-vault in Minneapolis; who'll stick the landing and get a chance to compete for Olympic glory? Fans won't know until Sunday night when the full team is announced. (See schedule, below.)
The competition will be fierce. Sixteen women and 20 men will vie for just five spots each, plus two traveling and two non-traveling replacement athletes for each squad.
And realistically, the women are competing for three or four spots; barring any catastrophes, Houston's own all-time great Simone Biles will lead the team. Also expected to make the cut: Shilese Jones, six-time World medalist.
After that, the field is open ... and deep.
Jordan Chiles, Biles' training mate at World Champions Centre in Spring (which has five athletes competing), is gunning for her second Olympics. She was part of the 2020 Tokyo team that took home the silver medal. Her more modern artistry, including a Beyonce-inspired floor routine, sets her apart, but consistency is her superpower. Will it be enough this time?
One of the top contenders to help round out the team is Dallas native Skye Blakely. The 19-year-old, who lives in Frisco and trains at champion-producing WOGA Gymnastics, is a two-time World team champion. She was crowned the 2024 U.S. all-around silver medalist in Fort Worth, where her debut of a difficult "Cheng" vault put her prominently in the conversation for the Olympics. Three years after her bid to make the 2020 Olympic team ended with an injury, Blakely is peaking at the right time.
UPDATE 6-27-2024: Skye Blakely was injured during a practice at Olympic Trials on Wednesday, June 26. On Thursday morning, USA Gymnastics announced that she will have to withdraw from competition. "During Podium Training on Wednesday, Skye Blakely sustained a right Achilles injury and will be unable to compete in Olympic Trials. We are cheering for Skye in her recovery!" the organization posted on Facebook.
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Her WOGA training mate Hezly Rivera has an outside shot. The New Jersey native, who now calls Plano home, surprised the Fort Worth arena by finishing sixth in the Nationals all-around competition - right behind 2020 Olympic medalists Suni Lee (fourth) and Chiles (fifth) and one place ahead of Jade Carey (seventh). Given that Rivera is just 16 years old, she'll be a serious contender for the 2028 Olympics if she stays healthy.
Another WOGA gymnast in the conversation is Kaliya Lincoln. The California native, a current Frisco resident, is known for her gravity-defying tumbling and high-flying flips on floor exercise. Lincoln pulled out of Nationals in Fort Worth due to injury, but if fully recovered at Trials, the 18-year-old could soar to a spot on the team, or as an alternate.
Also in the hunt is Joscelyn Roberson. The 18-year-old Texarkana native trains at World Champions Centre in Spring and brings down the house with her powerful tumbling. She finished 10th in Fort Worth.
On the men's side, Tomball resident Asher Hong is eyeing a coveted spot in Paris, as is his Stanford University teammate Colt Walker of Cedar Park. Fan favorite Fuzzy Benas, a Richmond native and University of Oklahoma standout, is also gunning for a spot.
All the gymnasts vying for a spot on the Olympic team are:
Women
- Simone Biles — Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre
- Skye Blakely — Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics
- Jade Carey — Phoenix, Ariz./Oregon State University
- Dulcy Caylor — Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre
- Jordan Chiles — Vancouver, Wash./World Champions Centre
- Kayla DiCello — Boyds, Md./Hill’s Gymnastics
- Shilese Jones — Auburn, Wash./Ascend Gymnastics Center
- Suni Lee — St. Paul, Minn./Midwest Gymnastics Center
- Kaliya Lincoln — Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics
- Eveylynn Lowe — Blue Springs, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express
- Zoey Molomo — Frisco, Texas/Metroplex Gymnastics
- Hezly Rivera — Oradell, N.J./WOGA Gymnastics
- Joscelyn Roberson — Texarkana, Texas/World Champions Centre
- Simone Rose — Sammamish, Wash./Pacific Reign Gymnastics
- Tiana Sumanasekera — Pleasanton, Calif./World Champions Centre
- Leanne Wong — Overland Park, Kan./University of Florida
Men
- Fuzzy Benas — Richmond, Texas/University of Oklahoma
- Jeremy Bischoff — Santa Clarita, Calif./Stanford University
- Cameron Bock — Tustin, Calif./University of Michigan
- Tate Costa — Narragansett, R.I./University of Illinois
- Alex Diab — Hinsdale, Ill./EVO Gymnastics
- Asher Hong — Tomball, Texas/Stanford University
- Patrick Hoopes — Lehi, Utah/U.S. Air Force Academy
- Paul Juda — Deerfield, Ill./University of Michigan
- Josh Karnes — Erie, Pa./Penn State University
- Brody Malone — Aragon, Ga. /EVO Gymnastics
- Kiran Mandava — Cypress, Texas/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics
- Yul Moldauer — Arvada, Colo./5280 Gymnastics
- Stephen Nedoroscik — Worcester, Mass./EVO Gymnastics
- Curran Phillips — Naperville, Ill./EVO Gymnastics
- Frederick Richard — Stoughton, Mass./University of Michigan
- Kai Uemura — Chicago, Ill./Lakeshore Academy
- Colt Walker — Cedar Park, Texas/Stanford University
- Donnell Whittenburg — Baltimore, Md./Salto Gymnastics
- Shane Wiskus — Spring Park, Minn./EVO Gymnastics
- Khoi Young — Bowie, Md./Stanford University
Jordan Chiles, who trains in Spring, rocked a Beyonce-inspired leotard at Nationals to match her floor routine music.
The 2024 Gymnastics Olympic Team Trials will run June 27-30 in Minneapolis, with men's events taking place Thursday and Saturday, and women's events on Friday and Sunday. Courtesy of USA Gymnastics, the full schedule will be:
- Thursday, June 27 – 5:45-8 pm CT – Men’s Day 1 (USA Network, Peacock)
- Friday, Jun 28 – 6:40-9 pm CT – Women’s Day 1 (NBC, Peacock)
- Saturday, June 29 – 2:15-5 pm CT – Men’s Day 2, Men’s Olympic Team named (NBC, Peacock)
- Sunday, June 30 – 7:10-10 pm CT – Women’s Day 2, Women’s Olympic Team named (NBC, Peacock)
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The story contains material from Associated Press and USA Gymnastics. It was updated with the news of Skye Blakely's injury on June 27.
Hannah Bilka is one of two North Texans competing in this year's Games.Photo courtesy of Getty Images
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