Tuesday, November 5, 2024
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From Simone to Suni, everything to know about Olympic gymnastics

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  • Alyssa Roenigk, ESPN Senior WriterJul 26, 2024, 07:03 AM ET

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      Alyssa Roenigk is a senior writer for ESPN whose assignments have taken her to six continents and caused her to commit countless acts of recklessness. (Follow @alyroe on Twitter).

PARIS — “I just met the fastest man alive!”

Within hours of checking into the Olympic Village on Monday, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team began posting photos and videos of themselves trying on official Team USA gear, posing with athletes in other sports (and Snoop Dogg), dancing and touring their two-to-a-room mini apartments complete with cardboard beds, makeshift closets and portable AC units.

“We didn’t get this experience last Olympics, so we’re overly hyped,” reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee said in a video she posted on TikTok. “Overly hyped,” two-time Olympian Jordan Chiles echoed emphatically.

While it’s true that four of the women on this team (and one alternate) return from the Tokyo Games, the entire squad is experiencing the Olympics for the first time. “Overall, Tokyo was really hard for a lot of us,” reigning Olympic floor champion Jade Carey, who competed in 2021 as an individual, told ESPN via Zoom in mid-July.

In Tokyo, the gymnasts stayed in a hotel outside of the athlete village. They performed in front of nearly empty stands. There was little cheering, pin trading or standing ovations, no friends or family members to hug and the omnipresent fear of testing positive for Covid-19. “This time, I really want to embrace the normal Olympic experience and take it all in since I didn’t get that last time,” Carey said.

Since making the team, Carey, Lee, Chiles and seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles have been referring to the Paris Games as their “redemption tour,” since Tokyo didn’t go as planned for any of them. But before they turn their focus to individual redemption, the Tokyo silver medalists want to win team gold. “We all have more to give,” Biles said at trials earlier this month. “I know we’re stronger than what we showed in Tokyo.”

Their pursuit of that goal begins Sunday at Bercy Arena, where the U.S. women are expected to qualify first into Tuesday’s team final, as well as send several gymnasts to individual apparatus finals. (At the most recent world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, in October, the U.S. qualified more than five points ahead of second-place Great Britain and more than six points ahead of China. Of the five women on this team, though, only Biles was also in Antwerp.)

The top two U.S. women will also earn spots to compete in the all-around final on Thursday, Aug. 1. Biles is a likely lock to grab the first spot and defending Olympic all-around champion Lee, who finished second behind Biles at trials, could earn a second shot at an all-around medal.

What else will you want to know as Olympic gymnastics begins? Here’s the lowdown.

Who is on the U.S. teams?

Four of the women return from Tokyo: Biles, Lee, Chiles and Carey. Sixteen-year-old Hezly Rivera is the youngest athlete in any sport in the U.S. delegation in Paris. Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson, members of the 2023 world championship team, are the traveling alternates.

On the men’s side, only Brody Malone returns from the 2021 Games and is joined by 2023 world all-around bronze medalist Fred Richard, 2023 world team bronze medalists Asher Hong and Paul Juda and pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik. Shane Wiskus and Khoi Young are in Paris as alternates.

Which Americans could win individual medals?

Let’s start with the women. Nothing is a given, but Biles is the favorite to win or medal in the all-around, vault, floor and beam. If she does so, and helps the U.S. to a team medal, she has the potential to leave Paris with a career total of 12 Olympic medals. Even one more will make her the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history.

Lee is a medal favorite on bars and beam, but she’s said she’s focused on winning gold on beam. Carey aims to defend her floor gold from Tokyo and wants redemption on vault after tripping on the run-in of her Cheng in 2021. Chiles has the possibility of sneaking into a medal spot on vault, bars or floor — but likely only if a teammate makes a mistake.

For the men, Nedoroscik, the 2021 world pommel horse champion, competes a routine with a 6.5 start value, and a clean performance could earn him a medal. Richard proved at worlds that he’s a threat in the all-around.

How is Simone Biles looking?

Biles appeared relaxed and ready during Thursday’s podium training, where she nearly stuck a Yurchenko double pike on her first attempt. “She did a couple even better ones in the back,” Lee’s coach, Jess Graba, said after training. “I feel bad. [Watching the YDP] kinda feels normal now and it’s not normal. Someday you’ll look back and go, ‘I stood there for that.'”

Biles’ coach, Cecile Landi, said the environment of this Olympics and having the support of a team filled with world and Olympic medalists is providing peace of mind for Biles. Before traveling to Paris, Landi spoke with women’s team strategic lead Chellsie Memmel about Biles having the option to compete in three events during team finals instead of all four, to ease her mind. Three years ago, it was in team finals that Biles experienced the twisties and pulled out of the competition.

“We’re going to support her,” Memmel said in a press conference on Tuesday. “There are four other members on her team.” Biles had the same option to skip uneven bars during team finals at world championships last October, but ultimately decided to compete on all four events. “I think for her, just knowing that she has the option to say, ‘Hey I maybe want to take one event off out of the whole two weeks,’ it’s mentally helping,” Landi says. “But she likes to compete.”

Who might surprise on Team USA?

The women’s team is stacked with Olympic and world champions, so little they accomplish will come as a surprise. But Rivera, the lone rookie who’s competing in her first senior international meet, has been consistent in training since arriving in France. The 2024 Winter Cup balance beam champion likely will compete on bars and beam during team qualification and on beam in the team final, where she will set the tone for her teammates.

How will the U.S. men’s team fare in Paris?

Men’s team qualification is the first gymnastics competition in Paris, and unlike in Tokyo, where the U.S. men started the meet with a six-point deficit because of anemic difficulty scores, they have a legitimate shot at a medal here in Paris.

“In Tokyo, we were so far behind, we knew we didn’t have a chance,” men’s high performance director Brett McClure said Tuesday. “To go out and hit perfectly and hope other teams make mistakes is not the mentality you want to have going into an Olympic Games. This team’s legacy is being able to close that gap in a short time. In three years, to go out and compete for a podium is incredible.”

Who is the biggest competition for the American men?

Defending Olympic champion Russia is not competing, which opens the door for Japan and China, the 2023 world gold and silver medalists, respectively. Japan is led by defending world and Olympic all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto, who hopes to lead his team back to the top of the Olympic podium.

Malone and Co.’s closest competition likely will come from Great Britain, who the U.S. edged off the medal box for bronze in Antwerp. It was the first team medal in major international competition for the American men in nearly a decade. Four-time Olympian Max Whitlock leads a Team GB that’s looking for payback.

How about for the U.S. women?

The Brazilian team, led by 2023 world all-around silver medalist and reigning Olympic vault champion Rebecca Andrade, is Team USA’s biggest competition. But don’t count out China and France for podium spots in the team final.

For individual medals, Andrade will help make the all-around, floor and vault finals must-watch events. While Biles has the Yurchenko double pike (YDP), Andrade has a new vault she may do, as well. If she lands the skill in Paris, the triple-twisting Yurchenko (TTY) will be called the Andrade.

Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour, who is competing as an individual in Paris, performs the most difficult uneven bars routine in the world and could win gold on bars. Reigning world champion Qiu Qiyuan of China could challenge Nemour on that event, potentially win beam as well, and even slip onto the all-around podium. And Qui’s teammate Zhou Yaqin came within one tenth of a point of winning beam last year at worlds, and is expected to be a medal contender there again.

How are the teams shaping up?

The morning after the men’s team was selected in Minneapolis, Malone started a group text. “It said, ‘Sup, boys,'” 23-year-old Paul Juda said the day after making the team. “He named the chat, ‘Olympic team, ’24,’ and sent it at 10:19 am. Pretty sweet.”

Since that text, Malone has become the de-facto leader on the men’s side.

“I’m the old guy now,” Malone said in Minneapolis. “I’m gonna approach it the same way I approached being at Stanford, just be a leader and make sure everybody’s on top of their stuff and support the guys the best I can.”

Since arriving in France, McClure says he’s watched his athletes find their roles and bond as a team. “Saint-Omer was a great chance to spend every meal, every apparatus training together and talk strategy and life outside of the gym,” McClure says of the team’s pre-Olympics camp in northern France. “It was a good experience to spend with the women’s team, too. It brought both programs closer together.”

How does the competition work?

First up is team qualifying (Saturday for the men; Sunday for the women) where four athletes compete on each apparatus and three scores count, meaning teams drop their lowest score on each event. The top eight teams (of 12) qualify into the team final (Monday for the men; Tuesday for the women), where three athletes compete on each apparatus and all three scores count, which is referred to as “three up, three count” and leaves little room for mistakes.

During qualifying, athletes will also qualify into individual event finals (the top eight on each event, with only two per country allowed on each), and the all-around (the top 24 overall, with again only two per country). Gymnasts must compete on every apparatus during qualification to be eligible for the all-around final, and perform two vaults in order to make the vault final.


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