The first day of competition for the women at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials didn't come without its twists and turns, but some of the nation’s top gymnasts are officially halfway to realizing a lifelong dream.
As anticipated, seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles leads the all-around standings after the first night of competition. It wasn’t Biles' best performance, but she remains well ahead of the rest of the field with a score of 58.900.
Rounding out the top four are Biles' Tokyo Olympic teammates. Jordan Chiles got off to a strong at Trials, finishing the day second all-around with a 56.400.
Reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee finished third in just her third all-around competition at the elite level since her battle with kidney disease began a year ago (56.025).
Reigning Olympic floor champion Jade Carey had one of the best all-around meets of her career for a 55.825, which currently places her fourth all-around.
Several of the top contenders went down with injuries prior to the competition. World all-around bronze medalist Shilese Jones took a fall on vault in the warm-ups and appeared to hurt her knee. She sat out the vault rotation before competing on uneven bars, then scratched from the remainder of the night's competition. Tokyo Olympic alternate Kayla DiCello withdrew from the competition after tearing her Achilles on vault at the start of the competition. Two-time world team champion Skye Blakely also sustained a torn Achilles in training a few days before the competition.
See below for rotation-by-rotation results and highlights.
Rotation 1
Simone Biles opened her evening on the uneven bars, often considered to be her weaker event of the four. After a clean routine with just a hop on the landing, Biles posted a 14.425.
Suni Lee opened the competition on vault. Her hand slipped on the table but she was able to pull her Yurchenko double twist around and land on her feet for a 13.525.
Tokyo Olympic alternate Leanne Wong debuted a new vault, a Cheng, with just a step back. Prior to injuries to several of the top-contenders, Wong wasn't necessarily considered to be a favorite to make the team. However, the difficulty level of that vault could be a huge boost for Wong's chances.
Originally Wong received a two-point neutral deduction for not getting enough support on both of her hands when making contact with the table, however after a judges review, her score was raised from a 12.450 to a 14.450.
Jordan Chiles rocked a bar routine to start her competition off strong (14.350).
TOP 10 - ROTATION 1
- Leanne Wong | 14.450
- Simone Biles | 14.425
- Jordan Chiles | 14.350
- Kaliya Lincoln | 14.225
- Hezly Rivera | 13.575
- Jade Carey | 13.575
- Suni Lee | 13.525
- Simone Rose | 13.450
- Dulcy Caylor | 13.450
- Joscelyn Roberson | 13.300
Rotation 2
With a 13.575 on both uneven bars and balance beam, Jade Carey is making a strong statement so far with two of her weaker events out of the way at the halfway point.
Excellent save for Chiles on her beam mount. Her right foot missed the beam but she disguised the mishap well. Otherwise, the routine was just about as good as it gets (13.625).
Really nice routine from Shilese Jones on uneven bars. Beautiful form and technique throughout, just a hop forward on the landing (14.675). She was wincing a bit after the routine and scratched from remainder of the night's competition.
Lee went for the upgraded uneven routine (6.3 D-score), but brushed her feet to the mat after the Bhardwaj, resulting in a three-tenth deduction. However, due to the difficulty level of the routine, she still managed a 14.400.
Biles had a shaky beam routine, starting right from the moment she mounted the beam, but fought to stay on for a 13.650.
TOP 10 - ROTATION 2
- Leanne Wong | 28.375
- Simone Biles | 28.075
- Jordan Chiles | 27.975
- Suni Lee | 27.925
- Kaliya Lincoln | 27.675
- Hezly Rivera | 27.600
- Joscelyn Roberson | 27.225
- Jade Carey | 27.150
- Simone Rose | 26.900
- Tiana Sumanasekera | 26.675
Rotation 3
Wong is having quite the night. Large wobble on the switch half on balance beam but otherwise it's a great routine. She's got a huge smile plastered on her face after that one.
Chiles worked the crowd on floor exercise and even gave the camera a little wink before her opening tumbling pass. She posted a 14.100.
Joscelyn Roberson performed one of the best routines she has done on floor exercise since injuring her ankle at the world championships last fall. A 13.925 is exactly the kind of score she needed to keep her name in the conversation.
Excellent floor routine from Roberson's teammate Tiana Sumanasekera. She made it look easy for a 13.875.
Major wobble for Lee on her acrobatic series on balance beam, but she fought hard to stay on. That's the mark of a veteran (14.400)!
Biles goes big on floor with a 14.850. Just a tiny hop on the triple twisting double back at the start of the routine, but that is certainly one of the best ones she has done in a competition.
Carey showed why she's the reigning Olympic champion on floor. As if her routine wasn't already difficult enough, she upgraded her third tumbling pass to a tucked double double, which brings her difficulty score to a 6.3. The final score for her routine is a 14.075.
TOP 10 - ROTATION 3
- Simone Biles | 42.925
- Suni Lee | 42.325
- Jordan Chiles | 42.075
- Leanne Wong | 41.800
- Hezly Rivera | 41.200
- Jade Carey | 41.225
- Joscelyn Roberson | 41.150
- Tiana Sumanasekera | 40.550
- Kaliya Lincoln | 40.425
- Simone Rose | 39.125
Rotation 4
Roberson vaulted a strong Cheng for a 14.325 - nice way to end her competition on night one. That gave her an all-around score of 55.475, which is a new career-best. Sumanasekera also posted a career-best 54.700.
Lee opened her floor routine with an upgraded full twisting double layout, which she stuck cold. Excellent routine, with different music and choreography from what she showed a few weeks ago at the U.S. Championships (13.700).
Biles ended her night with her eponymous vault - a Yurchenko double pike. She drew a standing ovation from the crowd while she waited for the score (15.975). She does a Cheng for her second vault, hop back, but clean in the air.
Carey wrapped up her evening with two stellar vaults. She nearly stuck her Cheng for a 14.600 and concluded her competition with an upgraded second vault - an Amanar - with just a step forward.
Chiles finished up her evening with a clean Yurchenko double twist on vault.
TOP 10 - FINAL DAY 1
- Simone Biles | 58.900
- Jordan Chiles | 56.400
- Suni Lee | 56.025
- Jade Carey | 55.825
- Joscelyn Roberson | 55.475
- Kaliya Lincoln | 54.875
- Hezly Rivera | 54.825
- Leanne Wong | 54.750
- Tiana Sumanasekera |54.700
- Simone Rose | 51.675
The Olympic team will be named following the conclusion of the competition on Sunday, June 30.