HARTFORD, Conn. — Simone Biles is kicking off the Olympic year in historic fashion.
The all-around gold medalist at the Rio Games begins her season Saturday at the U.S. Classic, where she’ll be joined by London champion Gabby Douglas and Tokyo winner Suni Lee. It’s the first time ever three Olympic all-around champions have competed together.
“It’s a really fun moment,” Douglas, who is back after taking almost eight years off, said Friday.
This meet doesn’t directly affect who makes the U.S. team for the Paris Olympics. But it plays a role because it’s a qualifier for the national championships later this month in Fort Worth, Texas. Results at nationals determine who gets invited to the Olympic trials, June 27-30 in Minneapolis.
How to watch the 2024 U.S. Classic
Biles’ session of competition will be televised live on CNBC and Peacock, which is NBC’s streaming service. NBC will also run a show recapping all the highlights from the U.S. Classic at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.
More:How to watch gymnastics stars Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Gabby Douglas at 2024 U.S. Classic
Tough start for Gabby Douglas
That was a tough start for Gabby Douglas, who is trying to make the Paris Olympics eight years after she last competed. Starting on uneven bars, her signature event, Douglas got off balance on a pirouette. She managed to save it, but couldn’t get back into her rhythm and came off. She got back up but dropped off a couple of seconds later. With fans – many of whom weren’t even alive when she won gold at the London Games in 2012 – chanting her name, Douglas got back up and finished her routine.
Douglas got a 10.1, which is going to hurt her chances of qualifying to do the all-around at the national championships in two weeks. She’s already qualified to do three events at nationals, but needs a 51 or higher here to qualify for the all-around. (She could also petition to do all four events.)
A historic competition with 3 Olympic all-around champs
This is the first time ever three Olympic all-around champions ― Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Suni Lee ― have competed together. But to put that in better perspective, when Douglas made the Rio team, she became the first reigning all-around champion since Nadia Comaneci in 1980 to compete at the next Olympics. Biles obviously did the same in Tokyo.
Biles, Douglas, Carey start on signature events
There will be fireworks early. Gabby Douglas starts on uneven bars, her signature event, while Simone Biles is up on balance beam, where she’s the reigning world champion. Oh, and Jade Carey starts on floor exercise, where she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Settle in and grab the popcorn. This is going to be fun.
Fans get rowdy for Biles before event starts
There’s still an hour until the meet starts and the XL Center isn’t even close to being half-full. But fans are already LOUD. When Simone Biles did her Yurchenko double pike vault ― also known as the Biles II ― the cheers were deafening.
What to expect from Biles, Lee and Douglas
Biles has already qualified for nationals as a member of the U.S. squad that won a seventh consecutive title at last year’s world championships. But she’s using this meet to test out her routines. She’s brought back her triple twisting, double somersault on floor exercise, also known as the Biles II, as well as the double-double dismount on uneven bars.
She’s also got new choreography on floor, from French choreographer Gregory Milan.
Lee was originally planning to do the all-around, which would have been her first since she had to cut short her final season at Auburn because of a kidney ailment, more than a year ago. She did bars and balance beam at Winter Cup in February, and vault and beam at the American Classic last month. But Lee is opting not to do bars here, and instead do vault, beam and floor.
Douglas qualified to do three events at nationals with her performance at the American Classic, but is hoping to improve on that so she can compete in the all-around.
Who is competing at the U.S. Classic?
Gymnasts like to have a meet to work out the nerves and have their routines judged before things start counting, so pretty much everyone is here. Biles and Shilese Jones, an all-around medalist at the last two world championships, are making their season debuts, as is Tokyo floor gold medalist Jade Carey and 2022 U.S. champion Konnor McClain, whose LSU team won the NCAA title last month.
How do you make the U.S. Olympic team?
The top all-arounder at the Olympic trials, likely to be Biles, is guaranteed a spot in Paris. The remaining four gymnasts, along with two alternates, are chosen by a selection committee based on their performances this year, scoring potential and how they’d contribute in both qualifying and team finals.
Unlike other sports, such as swimming and track and field, gymnastics teams can’t be chosen purely on results or rank order. In qualifying at the Olympics, teams compete four athletes on each event and can drop the lowest score. But in the team finals, only three athletes compete on each event and all three scores are counted. That means teams must be constructed to produce the highest scoring potential and consistency on all four events.
What’s next?
The U.S. championships are less than two weeks away, May 30 to June 2 in Forth Worth, Texas. The Olympic trials are June 27-30 in Minneapolis. The Paris Olympics begin July 26, with the women’s competition beginning two days later with qualifying.
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