The decision has been made and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team for the 2024 Paris Olympics is set.
And, of course, there’s Simone Biles, who is the favorite to win her second all-around gold medal at the Olympics and is tasked with leading the U.S. to victory again in the team event, which the U.S. women have won in two of the last three team events and which arch rival Russia is barred from competing in.
Biles will join several of her Olympic teammates on the team starting in 2021. One Rookies to watch. Here’s the full team breakdown:
goat:Simone Biles has made the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team and she deserves this.
Simone Biles
- Year: 27
- height: 4 feet 8 inches
- home town: Spring, Texas
- Best Events: Floor exercise, vault, balance beam
- What else is there to say about Biles? The best gymnast of her generation is competing in her third Summer Olympics, looking to add to her seven Olympic medals (including four golds). Having returned from her “twists and turns” in Tokyo, she has not only returned to her old self over the past year, but in many ways, even gotten better. It would not be surprising if she were to match her performance at the Paris Olympics, where she won four golds and one silver, from last year’s World Championships.
Suni Lee
- Year: 20
- height: 5 feet 0 inches
- home town: St. Paul, Minnesota
- Best Events: Balance beam, uneven bars
- Things you need to know: Lee is the reigning Olympic all-around champion and, like Biles, is in the midst of a comeback. After competing at Auburn University, she was diagnosed with two kidney conditions that caused her body to retain fluid and prevented her from training. It took her months of adjusting her medication before she was able to get back in the gym, and it was only recently that she was fully recovered to compete in all-around competition. Despite her time away from competition, Lee remains one of the best skaters in the world, sometimes outscoring Biles, especially on the uneven bars.
Jordan Chiles
- Year: twenty three
- height: 4 feet 11 inches
- home town: Vancouver, Washington
- Best Events: Uneven bars, floor exercise
- Things you need to know: At one point, it looked like Chiles might be relegated to the Olympic bracket. But the veteran member of the 2021 Olympic team has come on strong in recent weeks, placing well at nationals and performing especially well on the first day of Olympic Trials. Chiles, who competed collegiately at UCLA, is a longtime training partner and friend of Biles’ and always brings an energy and positive vibe to the gym. She’s capable of contributing on any apparatus, not just filling in, and is expected to play a key role for the team in Paris.
Jade Carey
- Year: twenty four
- height: 5 feet 2 inches
- home town: Phoenix, Arizona
- Best Events: Vault, floor exercise
- Things you need to know: Carey, one of the veterans who won the gold medal in floor exercise at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, returned to the elite circuit ahead of the Paris Games after competing in collegiate competition at Oregon State University. Although she struggled at times, finishing 15th at the 2023 U.S. Championships, she has made steady progress in recent months, including at the selection tournament. Carey will be expected to achieve high scores in floor exercise and vault.
Hesley Rivera
- Year: 16
- home town: Oradell, New Jersey
- Best Events: Balance beam, uneven bars
- Things you need to know: Of the five members of the team, Rivera is perhaps the most surprising. The 2023 U.S. junior champion has adapted quickly to the senior level, placing sixth all-around at the U.S. Championships earlier this month. This is her first year competing at the senior level, so she doesn’t have a lot of international experience. But the team is filled with more experienced skaters, so she’ll be able to learn without feeling a lot of direct pressure.
