The 2024 Paris Olympics will start in 100 days
100 days after the 2024 Paris Olympics, Team USA athletes are preparing to take their sports to the world stage.
FORT WORTH, Texas — By the time Simone Biles rolled backwards onto the carpet in her basement Sunday night, the mistake didn’t matter. Her lead at the 2024 US Championships was so enormous, and her eponymous jump so difficult, that her victory was virtually assured.
Biles won her record ninth national all-around title on Sunday night, picking up another win at Dickies Arena en route to what will almost certainly be a third trip to the Olympics. Over two nights of competition, she posted top scores in all four events. Her overall margin of victory – 5.9 points – was the gymnastics equivalent of defeat.
Biles, 27, is now looking forward to the US Olympic Trials at the end of this month, a moment in which she will get to know her four teammates on Team USA.
Skye Blakely, who finished second, was among several women who strengthened their candidacies for the Paris Championships – displaying the combination of consistency and ability that the selection committee will seek as they assemble the 2024 Olympic team.
Sunny Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, also had a strong showing – especially in her top two events, the uneven beam and balance beam. On Sunday, she improved her scores on those two machines alone by nearly a full point compared to the opening round on Friday. She placed fourth.
Kayla DiCillo (third) and Jordan Chiles (fifth) rounded out the top five.
Here’s a recap of everything else you missed on the final night of the 2024 US Open.
Simone Biles wins every event, closing out the nights with her solid uneven bars routine
FORT WORTH, Texas – Winning a ninth US title wasn’t enough for Simone Biles. She won every event as well.
Biles ended her night with a strong routine on the uneven bars, her “weakest” event. She moved easily between bars and worked quickly from one skill to the next. She was slightly off-center on her updated descent, a double twist and double somersault, and needed to take a step to secure herself. But this is a minor flaw.
She scored 14.4 points and her overall score of 29.050 over the two nights placed her in first place in the event ahead of Sky Blakely.
This is the second time Biles has swept all the national titles. I also did it in 2018. –Nancy Armour
Simone Biles takes the lead with one lap remaining
FORT WORTH, Texas – What Simone Biles is doing is so difficult, her grades are still much higher than everyone else’s even with an error.
Biles overcooked her double pike Yurchenko, also known as Biles II on the vault, and rolled onto her back. She was landing them in warmups and was probably trying to make sure she didn’t do it when it was necessary.
It doesn’t matter. Biles scored 15 points, more than half a point better than anyone else so far on Sunday night. Her second vault, Qing, was cleaner, with only a small step to get down.
Biles had a commanding lead in the final round, on uneven bars. –Nancy Armour
Sunny Lee celebrates her 14,900th on the beam
FORT WORTH, Texas – Several notable veterans fell on the balance beam tonight, including Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Leanne Wong. But Sonny Lee did not join them.
Lee eliminated some minor wobbles to dramatically improve her beam score from the first night, putting together a generally clean routine that had her pumping her fists in celebration. Her score of 14.900 was a tenth of a point higher than Simone Biles.
“I don’t want to overstate the magnitude of this beam routine,” NBC analyst John Roethlisberger said on air, adding that consistency on bars and beams will be the biggest key for me to get to Paris. – Tom Shad
Simone Biles gets out of bounds on the floor but is still in command
FORT WORTH, Texas – Simone Biles isn’t perfect.
Biles took a small step out of bounds in her first floor exercise, a triple-twisting double somersault also known as Biles II. However, this is only the third time she’s done the floor routine in competition this year, and it looks more and more polished every time she does it. Her landings were cleaner and her smiles seemed to be more natural as she went through her dance moves. When she walked into the corner, she looked directly into the camera and smiled broadly.
Biles’ score was 15.1, just 0.1 lower than it was on Friday night. Discount versus getting out on the first pass was the difference. However, she is firmly in control, and two more away from a ninth US title, which would extend her record. –Nancy Armour
Chiles Jones is ruled out for Nationals, but injury is improving
FORT WORTH, Texas – Shelleys Jones, who was overall the second best player in the world behind Simone Biles, will not compete this week due to a shoulder injury. But she was still at home on Sunday cheering everyone on, noting that her shoulder was improving.
“There’s been a little bit of progress today,” Jones said in a televised interview on NBC. “I woke up feeling a little better than I did all week. It’s been a little tough, but there’s some progress today.”
When Jones was asked how she felt watching the national championship from the stands, she said she was still nervous.
“I’m literally shaking for everyone,” she said. “I know they get it, but the nerves are definitely still there.” – Tom Shad
Sonny Lee looks comfortable after scoring 14,500 points on the uneven bars
FORT WORTH, Texas – Sunny Lee was practicing her handstand at the arena’s tunnel entrance until moments before her turn on the uneven bars, and appeared a little unsteady after her disappointing jump. Perhaps noticing this, Simone Biles walked over from the other side of the floor to give me some words of encouragement. “I’ve got this!” Biles exclaimed as Lee began her routine.
Lee proceeded to achieve a score of 14.500 in one of her signature events — two-tenths higher than what she scored Friday night. She seemed clearly relieved after coming out, and smiled as she hugged coach Jess Grappa. – Tom Shad
Suni Lee takes a huge discount on the vault
FORT WORTH, Texas – Sonny Lee’s night got off to an inauspicious start. The Olympic all-around champion appeared to slip on her vault and then sat up during her landing, resulting in a huge deduction.
Lee ultimately got a score of 12,150, almost two full points lower than the 14,000 she got the first night. She then left Earth briefly before returning with Simone Biles, who hugged her before they returned to their separate devices. –Tom Shad
Simone Biles starts off night two strong on crossbar
FORT WORTH, Texas – Gymnastics is tough. Not that you’d realize that by watching Simone Biles.
Biles opened the second night of competition at the U.S. Championships on balance beam Sunday night, turning in one big display of skill after another. The bar is only 4 inches wide and 4 feet in the air, but Biles looked like she was standing on flat ground.
The only ball was a hop forward as it came down, but that didn’t matter. She scored a 14.8, the same score she had on Friday night when she earned the highest mark of the meet in the event. —— Nancy Armour
FORT WORTH, Texas – Tonight’s contest is being broadcast live on Peacock and NBC…well, mostly anyway.
While the first rotation began at 6:45pm ET, TV coverage wasn’t scheduled to begin until 15 minutes later – meaning American TV viewers missed out on seeing Simone Biles’ routine on the balance beam as it happened. They also missed the first performances of the night from Sonny Lee (vault), Jordan Chiles (balance beam), and Kayla DiCillo (floor exercise), among others. – Tom Shad
When will Simone Biles compete in the USA Gymnastics Championships?
Simone Biles will compete in the second session. That means she, and the other big names on the women’s side, will be in action starting around 7pm ET on Sunday. — Tom Shad
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Where is the 2024 USA Gymnastics Championships located?
The U.S. Championships ran Thursday through Sunday at Dickies Arena, located a few miles west of downtown Fort Worth. — Tom Shad
Where to watch the US Gymnastics Championships
The second round of the women’s senior competition, which will feature Simone Biles, will get the most prestigious TV slot: a prime-time broadcast window on NBC on Sunday. — Tom Shad
USA Gymnastics Championships schedule
Below are today’s windows of coverage on NBC.
- Sunday, June 2 – Senior Men’s Day 2 – NBC (tape delay) – 3-4 p.m
- Sunday, June 2 – Senior Women’s Session 2, Day 2 – Live on NBC – 7-9 p.m
Will Gabby Douglas compete in 2024?
I competed this year. But the announcement of Gabby Douglas’s withdrawal did not come as a surprise after Douglas’ difficult matches in her first two competitions since the Rio Olympics in 2016. She fell twice on the uneven bars, her signature event, at the American Classic on April 27. He was better in training before the US Classic on May 18, but was scratched after one event after falling again on the bars. —— Nancy Armour
Kalia Lincoln is scratched from the second night of nationals
FORT WORTH, Texas – Kalea Lincoln was scratched from the second night of competition after leaving early Friday night. USA Gymnastics said in a social media post that it has already applied for an invitation to participate in the Olympic Trials later this month.
Lincoln, 18, earned $12,700 on the uneven bars and $12,300 on balance beam on Friday before withdrawing. Her strongest event is the floor exercise, where she placed second to Simone Biles at last year’s national championships. – Tom Shad
What’s at stake at the USA Gymnastics Championships
Since this weekend’s event is the last before the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, it represents an important showcase for anyone hoping to book a ticket to the 2024 Paris Games.
On the women’s side, the top two all-around finishers at the US Championships will automatically earn a spot in the Olympic qualifiers, where they will be joined by at least 10 other athletes invited at the discretion of USA Gymnastics. Of the 12 or more players competing in the Olympic qualifiers, only five will make Team USA, not including the replacements. – Tom Shad
When are the USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials?
June 27-30 in Minneapolis.
How did Simone Biles perform on the first night?
Biles posted her best all-around score of this Olympics so far: 60.450. It’s the first time Biles has scored more than 60 points since 2021.
“That was her goal,” said Cécile Landy, who trains Biles with her husband, Laurent. “Very happy with her routine and her stances, everything went really well.”
How to see live results from the USA Gymnastics Championships
USA Gymnastics will provide live results from the women’s competition, including Biles’ quest to win her ninth all-around national championship, on its website. here. —— Tom Shad
Message from Gabi
FORT WORTH, Texas – Gabby Douglas cheers on her would-be challengers Sunday night.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist He took to Instagram earlier today To thank fans for their support during her comeback, and send good vibes to the gymnasts at the US Championships. Douglas had hoped to be among them, but she announced her withdrawal on Wednesday and said in her Instagram post that she had injured her foot during training.
“This may be the end of this chapter but it is not the end of my gymnastics story,” wrote Douglas, the all-around champion at the 2012 London Olympics. “Thank you all for being with me on this journey and lifting me up on my lowest days, I love you all so much!
“Sending all the best to the girls tonight! Always cheering USA on! —— Nancy Armour
Trinity Thomas scratches for Night 2
FORT WORTH, Texas — Trinity Thomas, who returns to elite-level gymnastics this year after her final season at Florida, scratched the final three events on the first night of competition Friday after crashing twice while doing floor exercise. She warmed up on the uneven bars on Sunday but did not compete.
Thomas was the NCAA all-around champion in 2002, the same year she won her first consecutive Honda Athletic Awards as the nation’s top college gymnast. —— Nancy Armour
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