Night one of the U.S. Gymnastics Championships saw Simone Biles at her best. The 8-time U.S. Champion posted a 60.450 and heads into Sunday’s competition with a massive lead (3.4). En route to her win, Biles nailed her eponymous vault to score a 15.800, the highest vault score recorded in the 2022-2024 Code of Points.
While Biles’ night was undeniably impressive, her competitors raised eyebrows. After withdrawals from 2023 and 2022 Silver Medalist Shilese Jones and Olympic Champion Gabby Douglas, the door opened for underdogs to shine. The night saw narratives shift and athletes’ stocks rise and fall.
Stock up: Skye Blakely. The 19-year-old contributed to the last two gold medal-winning teams at the World Championships but has struggled with consistency. Blakely impressed on night one with the debut of a new, highly difficult vault, known as a “Cheng.” Named after its originator, Olympic Gold Medalist Cheng Fei (CHN), only gymnasts of the highest level – the likes of Simone Biles and Olympic Champion Rebeca Andrade (BRA) – compete the vault.
In her inaugural attempt, Skye nailed the element to earn the second-best vault score of the night (15.00) and catapult into second overall. If tonight’s results held, Biles and Skye would automatically advance to the U.S. Olympic Trials in June with the remaining athletes relying on nominations from the selection committee.
However, Blakely’s reliability in high-pressure moments remains in question. Enter: Kayla DiCello. The 2021 U.S. Olympic Alternate rounded-out the top three after a steady, confident showing on across all four events. Known for her consistency, DiCello could feasibly slide into Blakely’s spot if the latter were to falter.
2021 Olympic Gold Medalists Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey both demonstrated immense potential on night 1, with Lee making the stronger case.
The defending Olympic All-Around Champion showed improvements from the U.S. Classic, successfully hitting her bars routine and vaulting her full difficulty for the first time since 2021. Commentator and Olympian John Roethlisberger described Lee’s bars effort as “the most important single routine” in determining the U.S. Olympic Team.
Though Carey sits at only eighth overall, she plans to upgrade her exercises as the competitive season progresses. The 7-time World Medalist is renowned for her excellent pacing, marked by a slow progression of difficulty leading up to major international events.
Leanne Wong, the only U.S. gymnast to qualify to all three World Championships in the 2021-2024 quad, rounded out the top five after a solid effort.
However, Olympic team discussions cannot continue without Shilese Jones, the world’s third-ranked All-Around gymnast. Citing shoulder soreness, Jones scratched from the competition this morning and has been essential to the American team. Along with Biles, the 6-time world medalist competed all four events to lead Team USA to gold at the 2023 World Championships. The 21-year-old is expected to successfully petition to attend the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month.
While it’s Biles’ title to lose, fans should closely monitor the race for second place. With Jones’ sidelined, the spot is open for the taking – and comes with a bonus: an automatic bid to the U.S. Olympic Trials. Scores will carry over into night two of competition, but just 1.50 separates Blakely (second) and Wong (fifth). In gymnastics, anything can happen.
With national titles and trials spots on the line, the nation’s top gymnasts return to Dickies’ Arena on Sunday, June 2 at 5:45 p.m CT for the second and final day of competition.