Simone Biles won big at U.S. Classic with Taylor Swift routine. Who might join her on Team USA?
Simone Biles looks ready for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The gymnastics G.O.A.T earned the highest overall score at the U.S. Classic and was the top scorer in the floor exercise, which began with Taylor Swift's "...Ready For It?" Biles will likely make Team USA – but who else could join her?
At the U.S. Classic in Connecticut on Saturday, Biles, 27, earned an all-around score of 59.500, with the highest scores in both the vault and floor exercises. She was two points ahead of her next closest competitor, Shilese Jones, who earned the top score on bars.
The U.S. Classic is a top Olympic qualifying event. The high scorers from that event will go to the U.S. Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas from May 30 to June 2. The U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials will start on June 27, ahead of the summer games which begin on July 26.
While Jones, 21, took silver at the U.S. Classic, Jordan Chiles, who competed on Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, took bronze.
Suni Lee and Jade Carey, who also made Team USA in 2020, also medaled in individual events on Saturday and Carey placed fourth overall.
All of these women, along with Kaliya Lincoln, who medaled on the floor, and Skye Blakely, who received fifth overall, are set to go on to U.S. Nationals and are Team USA hopefuls.
Former Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas returned to the sport eight years after the Rio Games in 2016. Not only did she compete in Rio, but at the 2012 London Olympics, Douglas became the first Black woman to win the Olympic all-around title.
Douglas, however, had a rough start on the uneven bars and decided to withdraw from the other events during the U.S. Classic.
While Biles appears to be a shoo-in for the Olympics, the four other teammates and two alternates are yet to be determined.
During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles withdrew from several events after getting a case of the "twisties," a disorienting feeling while flying through the air on the vault. She announced she was taking a break from events to focus on her mental health.
"I was just happy to be back out there, get through those nerves again, feel that adrenaline," Biles said about returning to the sport. "I can't really complain how the first meet back was."
During the vault exercise, she hit a Yurchenko double pike – also known as a "Biles II," because she was the first woman to ever land the move at a competition. She did so at the 2021 U.S. Classic.