Gabby Douglas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, planned to seal her place on the squad traveling to Paris this summer by using the U.S. Classic, a crucial Olympic qualifying event, on Saturday.
But before withdrawing from the remaining events, the 2012 Olympic all-around and team champion faltered on the uneven bars, tumbling twice. The 28-year-old’s withdrawal prevents him from participating in the U.S. Championships all-around, set to begin on May 30.
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After a hiatus from the sport, Douglas resumed training in the hopes of making the Paris squad last year. The Olympic trials will start at the end of June.
In the meantime, Superstar Simone Biles appears ready for Paris. The 27-year-old 2016 Olympic champion placed first in the all-around competition on Saturday with a score of 59.500, almost two points ahead of second-place finisher Shilese Jones.
Additionally, Biles won first place on the uneven bars and balance beam and secured the top score on the vault and floor exercise.
“I was just happy to be back out there, get through those nerves again, and feel that adrenaline,” Biles stated. “I can’t really complain about how the first meeting back was.”
She performed a few of her iconic moves, including the Yurchenko double pike on vault and a triple-twisting double-flip tumbling pass.
Coach Laurent Landi watched from the side as Biles finished the vault, which calls for her to clasp her hands to her knees while she flips backward twice. In previous attempts, Landi had chosen to stand on the platform in order to identify Biles, resulting in a half-point neutral punishment for her.
Even though Biles made a few huge mistakes on her vault dismount and lost control of her landing during the triple-double, her blend of difficulty and accuracy continues to set the bar for the sport.
If Biles stays healthy, she will almost certainly make the five-person American Olympic squad. Who will accompany her to France? Over the next six weeks, we must resolve the crucial question of who will accompany her to France.
Jones was steady everywhere else and excellent on bars. Training has been challenging for Sunisa Lee, the Olympic champion from the 2020 Tokyo Games, as she has been dealing with renal problems for the past 18 months. She participated in three events, and her sophisticated beam routine brought home a score of 14.600, just shy of Biles’s 14.550.
Olympic silver medalist Jordan Chiles finished third overall with a score of 55.450. Fourth place went to Jade Carey, who won gold on a Tokyo floor.
The 2022 U.S. champion, Konnor McClain, had to withdraw from the competition because of an Achilles injury he sustained warming up on a floor exercise.
