Simone Biles leads historic U.S. women’s gymnastics team for Paris Olympics (original) (raw)

MINNEAPOLIS — For Hezly Rivera, this all seemed improbable a week ago. Perhaps her best chance of making the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team waited four years in the future. Several other Americans entered these trials with a clear edge over the 16-year-old. But as top athletes suffered injuries, Rivera’s outlook dramatically changed.

And now, here she is celebrating as one of the five women who will represent the United States in Paris. The other 2024 Olympians have been here before: Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey competed in Tokyo and earned another Olympic berth Sunday night. It’s the first women’s gymnastics team ever to feature two Olympic all-around champions, and the first U.S. team since 1952 to feature four returning Olympians. Rivera is the newcomer, but she was undeniable after a fantastic showing at the trials.

Rivera capped her performance in Minneapolis with a strong double-twisting Yurchenko. She smiled and clapped a few times as she stepped off the mat. And then she waited. About 30 minutes later, relief and joy finally came as she was named to the five-member U.S. women’s gymnastics team that will be expected to win gold in Paris.

During a chaotic week here, three of the top contenders withdrew because of injuries. The race for the final spot on the Olympic team suddenly featured athletes who hadn’t seemed to be strong contenders a week ago. Rivera, who turned 16 a few weeks ago, delivered under pressure. Across nationals and the trials, she performed 16 strong routines — none more important than her showing on beam Sunday.

Rivera navigated her difficult routine with confidence and precision, earning a 14.275 that will help the U.S. team in Paris. She also is excellent on bars. Even though she hasn’t competed at a major international competition as a senior elite, her consistent scores here proved she was an athlete who would complement the four Tokyo Olympians.

Biles earned an automatic Olympic berth by winning the all-around competition at the trials; her score of 117.225 was more than five points ahead of runner-up Lee (111.675). Biles perhaps is better than she has ever been. She will enter the Games with the potential to earn up to five gold medals. She has been dominant since her return to competition last year.

A three-person selection committee chose the other four Olympic team members, considering their performances here and at other recent competitions, as well as the overall strength of the team. Biles, Lee, Chiles and Carey began solidifying their spots on the team with strong performances on the first day of the trials Friday. As long as they made it through Sunday’s final night of competition without major trouble or an injury, their Olympic berths seemed assured.

Together, those four past Olympians create a team without a major weakness, but the group had room for an athlete with the potential to contribute on beam in the team final. Rivera (13.9875 average at the trials), Joscelyn Roberson (also a 13.9875 average) and Tiana Sumanasekera (just behind with a 13.950) were fantastic on the apparatus here.

Rivera was chosen as the answer. She finished fifth in the all-around, and she also is strong on bars, posting a 14.300 on the apparatus Sunday for the second-best score of the evening. Across four days of competition at nationals and the trials, Rivera hasn’t slipped below a 13.700 on bars and beam, her best events.

Roberson, who suffered a serious ankle injury that limited her training heading into the Olympic season, had a strong performance at the trials, and she was named a traveling alternate, along with Leanne Wong, who also was an alternate for the Tokyo Games.

In the past week, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello suffered injuries that ended their bids for Paris. Jones and Blakely headed to the trials as favorites to earn Olympic berths, and DiCello was expected to be in the mix as well. Without them, the Americans will have a much lower scoring ceiling in Paris, but they will still be expected to win gold, particularly given Russia’s absence. — Emily Giambalvo

Continue reading for highlights and analysis from the trials.