The U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Trials will continue on Friday night with the Women’s Trials from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
The U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Trials will continue on Friday night with the Women’s Trials from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. With the Tokyo Olympics only a month away you’ll see over 35 gymnasts looking to book their spot on the U.S. Olympic team. The trials will start on June 24 and go through Sunday, June 27.
Jade Carey has already accepted one of the two available individual spots on the women’s team. Everyone will have their eyes on Simone Biles, the four-time Olympic gold medalist as well as her teammate Jordan Chiles during these trials.
This should be a fun week of events leading up to the finals, here is everything you need to know to catch the action live.
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The U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Trials will begin on Thursday night with the Men’s Trials from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis.
The U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Trials will begin on Thursday night with the Men’s Trials from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. With the Tokyo Olympics only a month away you’ll see over 35 gymnasts looking to book their spot on the U.S. Olympic team. The trials will start on June 24 and go through Sunday, June 27. There are six spots available for the women and five for the men.
Jade Carey has already accepted one of the two available individual spots on the women’s team. Everyone will have their eyes on Simone Biles, the four-time Olympic gold medalist as well as her teammate Jordan Chiles during these trials.
This should be a fun week of events leading up to the finals, here is everything you need to know to catch the action live.
We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
“I worry, ‘Am I gonna be just as good?'” Simone Biles says in a new docuseries, Simone vs Herself.
The Simone Biles most of the world knows is a fearless, gravity-defying phenom who pushes her body and gymnastics to their limits. She’s a leader and advocate who’s captivating and charming on camera, even when she’s not satisfied with a (still probably victorious) performance.
But when documentarian Gotham Chopra asked her what story she wanted to tell, the answer, he said, was simple: An authentic one that reminds people she’s human, despite her apparent super powers.
In Simone vs Herself — a new seven-part docuseries on Facebook Watch directed by Chopra, who’s done similar projects with athletes like Tom Brady and Steph Curry — viewers get a raw, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be the greatest gymnast of all time. Her frustration and struggles, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, are on full display right beside her triumphs.
“She’s in a class by herself,” Chopra told For The Win about Biles, an executive producer for the series. “We see the products, we don’t necessarily see the process. … She’s training seven days a week, twice a day. Sundays are off — she practices once in the morning. And so there’s a lot of frustration. There’s a lot of mistakes. There’s a lot of, ‘Do I really want to do this?’ She’s pretty open about that.”
In interviews for the docuseries, Biles candidly shares her fears and self-doubt about the toll gymnastics is taking on her physically and mentally. At one point in a moment shot in 2020 early in the pandemic, she says: “If they cancel the Olympics, I’m quitting. I can’t do this any longer.”
After the Olympics were postponed to July 2021, she opens up with a vulnerable, seldom-seen side of her, worrying about training so hard for another year. Physically, she says she has no doubt she’ll be prepared with the help of her coaches, Cecile and Laurent Landi.
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“Mentally, on the other hand, I was really worried because I’m like getting older, getting tired, it’s getting harder to get up and go to the gym,” Biles says in the docuseries from September.
“I’m walking in like two minutes before practice starts. I’m like, ‘Who am I? This is so unlike me.’ But I seriously just can’t get up anymore. It’s a very different change, but I still go in there and get my work done.”
Obviously, she opted to push forward, believing the payoff in the Tokyo Games will be worth it. The Team USA Olympics trials are set for June 24-27, with Biles pretty much being a lock.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
“During that quarantine process, I got to really relish in my emotions for the first time in my life without any outside voices telling me that it was going to be OK or I can do it,” Biles says in the first episode.
“Deciding to still move forward and train for 2021 Olympics was only up to me, no outside voices. That’s what I was fighting for and training for. … Having to come back, you have to bring a whole new level, and then I worry, ‘Am I gonna be just as good?’ That’s my real fear, to see if I can get back to 2019 shape and ability. Can I do it again?”
Biles almost always looks calm and collected when she’s competing, but her poised look is far from the full story, Chopra noted. He said he was talking with Biles prior to her doing the Yurchenko double pike at the U.S. Classic, and she candidly explained her mental approach to the challenging vault.
“She was saying every time she’s about to start running down the runway for the vault, she’s afraid,” Chopra said. “I thought it was interesting because mostly when you talk to athletes, there’s a sense of fearlessness. They get in the zone, they talk about being in flow state, and there’s just no emotion. They’re just totally in the moment and focused on the process.
“And Simone and her candor, she’s like, ‘Oh no, I’m terrified. Every single time I do it, I’m envisioning the worst possible outcome up until the point I’m done with it.’ And there’s a level of honesty — I think it has a lot to do with her age also — that is pretty, pretty great.”
However, Simone vs Herself goes beyond the incredible heights she reaches the competition floor, Chopra said. She’s a regular and vocal critic of USA Gymnastics and said in an interview from April with the TODAY show that part of the reason she returned to gymnastics was to hold the governing body accountable because if she’s there, it can’t ignore her as she pushes for change within the sport.
The docuseries, Chopra said, delves into the Larry Nassar abuse scandal with Biles opening up about how she’s still processing being a survivor. She remains candid because she wants to tell her own backstory about her life and experiences, the director said. And in that, she addresses her mental health and being a survivor and advocate.
“You want to get where they really feel ownership over the stories,” Chopra said.
“She’s a survivor — she talked openly about that. She talked about her mental health and treatment and the good days and the bad days as an advocate,” he added. “Look how she’s continuing to win that battle off the mat, and I think that’s probably the thing that she’s most proud of — that she will continue and probably grow and evolve. And I think that’s the thing that she wants to communicate because that’s what this series is really about.”
Similar to Chopra’s projects with Brady and Curry, Biles’ story and docuseries is incomplete.
Of the seven total episodes, Facebook Watch will release the first five on Tuesdays leading up to the Summer Olympics. The remaining two will be based on what happens in Tokyo, Chopra said, and Biles could return to the states with five gold medals — which would be a record for an American woman in a single Games.
“She’s a superhero,” Chopra said. “Literally, she flies through the air. She does these things that no other human being on the planet has done in the history of her sport.
“But there’s also … this vulnerability and this humanness inside and underneath, and it’s pretty remarkable.”
Simone Biles, the GOAT, made history at the U.S. Classic when she landed her Yurchenko double pike.
Simone Biles made history during Saturday’s U.S. Classic gymnastics meet when she landed a Yurchenko double pike for the first time in competition — a vault no woman has ever competed.
“We’re really excited about it,” Biles said. “It’s really consistent.”
There’s no doubt that Biles is the GOAT of women’s gymnastics — and one of the best athletes of all time. And she knows it. We all do.
Just to make it clear, Biles sported a rhinestone goat on the back of her leotard during the U.S. Classic, and it was fitting given her historic impact on the sport.
But this isn’t the first time Biles has worn a goat on her leotard. Back in August 2019, Biles sported a leotard with a goat during a training session for the U.S. gymnastics championships as a way to show her critics who called her “cocky” for having her name on the back of her leotard at a qualifying meet.
On Saturday, Biles competed for the first time since winning her fifth all-around world championship back in October 2019. But she’s picking up exactly where she left off — and making history along the way.
After retiring from gymnastics in 2012, Olympian Chellsie Memmel is back.
After retiring from gymnastics in 2012, Olympic silver medalist and three-time world champion Chellsie Memmel returned to competition Saturday at the U.S. Classic in Indianapolis.
And the 32-year-old gymnast and mother of two came out of retirement with an inspiring message about never being too old to chase something you want because, she said: “No one should be stopping you. Just don’t hold yourself back.”
Saturday, Memmel competed on vault and beam, and after nearly a decade away from competition, she delivered stunning performances, despite falling off the beam for a moment.
“I feel like this is a win,” Memmel told NBC Sports after her day ended. “I didn’t know what to expect, honestly, when I got out on the floor. Was I just going to fall over and faint of nerves? Like, I don’t know. It felt really good.”
2008 Olympic silver medalist Chellsie Memmel came out of retirement today to compete at her first gymnastics meet in 9 years.
“It felt great to start on vault with one of my best vaults of the weekend,” she continued. “Obviously, beam didn’t go as well as I wanted, but I’m happy. I put myself out there, and I couldn’t have asked for a better day.”
Of course, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist was also asked about her comeback, and Memmel took that opportunity to reiterate that “backwards” thinking about what’s often considered too old for competition should be abandoned.
"I just wanted to put that message out to anybody who thought they missed their chance at something or didn't get a chance to try it. No one should be stopping you. Just don't hold yourself back."@CMemmel after competing at her first meet in 9 years. #USClassic@OnHerTurfpic.twitter.com/TdhrAf02Vm
When Nastia Liukin — who won five Olympic medals at the 2008 Games, including the all-around gold — described the comeback as “a true inspiration to so many people.” Liukin asked what motivates Memmel to continue pushing herself training every day, Memmel said:
“I love doing it. And I am not going to get sick of saying this, and I’m not going to stop saying it because that’s really the biggest driving force of just enjoying doing gymnastics. I love doing gymnastics, and there definitely are those hard days.
“But those days are the ones where I’m remembering like, you’re just pushing yourself, you’re having fun, you’re seeing how far you can actually take this when people said you should have retired when you were 20 or when you were 24. ‘You can’t have kids and come back to a sport.’ It’s that kind of thinking, I feel, is so backwards, but that’s what we think is true. And it’s not true.
“And that’s, for me, I just wanted to put that message out to anybody who thought they missed their chance at something, or didn’t get a chance to try it, or wanted to go back to their sport even just for fun. No one should be stopping you. Just don’t hold yourself back.”
If Memmel makes the Olympic team for the Tokyo Games this summer, she would be older than any U.S. Olympic gymnast in the last 60 years, as NBC Sports noted last year.
SO incredibly proud of you Chel. You are inspiring the entire world – every generation – showing that age is truly just a number AND your true love and passion for the sport ❤️ @CMemmelpic.twitter.com/76jswxcMRE
Biles returns to competition Saturday for the first time since the 2019 world championships — where she became the most decorated gymnast at worlds and increased her medal count to 25, 19 of them gold — and will compete in the U.S. Classic in Indianapolis.
On vault, the 24-year-old gymnast could perform a new move, a Yurchenko double pike, as USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour reported. It’s a super intense and dangerous vault, and Biles could become the first woman to attempt it.
And fans got a little preview of this revolutionary vault, and it’s absolutely jaw-dropping.
Earlier this year, one of Biles’ coaches, Laurent Landi, explained the risks associated with attempting a Yurchenko double pike. Via 60 Minutes, Landi said:
“It’s very, very challenging. And what’s scary — it’s that people can get hurt, you know? You do a short landing, you can hurt your ankles. It’s a very dangerous vault.”
Simone Biles could be the first woman to attempt a Yurchenko double pike in competition, say her coaches. Only men have landed it. “It's very, very challenging… people can get hurt… it's a very dangerous vault,” says Biles’ coach, Laurent Landi. https://t.co/ovlrulJYIOpic.twitter.com/qQTxKeUuNk
Biles’ recent practice video is an exciting teaser for what she could do this weekend, at Olympic trials and at the Tokyo Games, where she has a realistic shot at adding five more Olympic golds to her already stunning medal count.
Simone Biles is leaving Nike for Athleta. Here’s why.
It’s not every day that an athlete leaves Nike — the biggest sportswear and apparel brand in the world.
But this week it lost two big ones. Earlier on Tuesday it was announced that Kobe Bryant’s estate was moving on from the company after nearly two decades of partnering with the brand.
Biles is moving on to Athleta — a women’s activewear brand under the Gap umbrella.
Biles is really about to get into her bag with her new partnership. Let’s talk about what she’s doing, what her goals are and what this might mean moving forward.
On Monday, Auburn University announced that senior gymnast Meredith Sylvia is a recipient of this year’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
On Monday Auburn University announced that senior gymnast Meredith Sylvia is a recipient of this year’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
🏆@AULiberalArts Professor Steven Brown + @cosamau students William Illiano and Meredith Sylvia are the 2021 recipients of the prestigious Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.
Each year Auburn University honors two senior students with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. The award is named after notable New York attorney and humanitarian Algernon Sydney Sullivan who founded the New York Southern Society (now Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation) with the mission to promote,
“The welfare of mankind and to continue, carry out and further the philanthropies and philanthropic aims of the late Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Mary Mildred Hammond Sullivan, and more particularly to contribute funds for the support, education, maintenance, care and training of children of any age and circumstance.”
The award honors students who demonstrate exceptional character and integrity as well as a commitment to serve others.
Sylvia is set to graduate this spring with a degree in conservation biology. She plans to earn her Masters in Arts in education and become a middle school science teacher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEJTPTVhyY4
As a gymnast Sylvia was one of the Tigers most reliable specialists on the beam. The consistent SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient was also reliable within the Auburn community with service dedicated to the Lee County Humane Society, Our House, and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Since the start of the COVID19 pandemic Sylvia has assisted the Lee County Humane Society by providing care for more than 20 animals. Sylvia provided great relief to local overflowing animal shelters by becoming a foster home.
𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙂𝙍𝘼𝙏𝙎 to Meredith Sylvia! Thank you for serving the Auburn/Opelika community so well!
Through Our House Sylvia tutored and mentored local elementary and middle school students by assisting them with classwork. Our House is a non-profit organization that supplies resources to underprivileged families.
For several years now Sylvia and the Auburn gymnastics team have participated in the annual Downtown Trick or Treat event through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The festive Halloween activity allows athletes to greet fans and pass out candy to kids. Individually she has visited several local elementary schools to encourage the importance of exercise and display her gymnastics abilities. Sylvia has taken part in several Habitat for Humanity service projects through Auburn SAAC by serving as a volunteer in 2017 and service project coordinator in 2019.
Auburn gymnastics’ season is over due to positive COVID-19 test results and contract tracing within the program.
Auburn gymnastics’ season is over due to positive COVID-19 test results and contract tracing within the program. The Tigers were scheduled to compete as the nation’s No.15 seed at the 2021 NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional Championships this upcoming weekend.
The team as well as individual specialists were hoping to prove themselves worthy of a qualifying spot in the national championship events scheduled to take place April 16-April 17.
The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon. Auburn University said that the decision is in compliance with COVID-19 management protocols established by the NCAA and the SEC.
In her first competition since the Rio Olympics, Laurie Hernandez was in the room where it happens.
Two-time Olympic medalist Laurie Hernandez competed Saturday in her first meet since the 2016 Rio Olympics, and although the 20-year-old gymnast didn’t have a perfect day, she had a great time at the Winter Cup meet.
She finished fifth on balance beam and 11th with her floor routine — which she said, per NBC Sports, were “super watered-down routines so we could dip my toe back in the water” as she looks ahead to try to make the Tokyo Olympics team.
But watered down or not, a clear highlight of her floor routine was the medley soundtrack, which featured The Room Where It Happens from the musical Hamilton. (In For The Win’s complete ranking of Hamilton‘s songs, The Room Where It Happens landed at No. 8.)
It was fabulous, even if Hernandez is still looking to improve on it. Via USA TODAY Sports:
“There was nothing expression-wise to choreograph (because) I know that if I’m having a really good time, it’s going to just fly out of my face,” said Hernandez, who did her own choreography.
A musical theater fan, Hernandez tweeted Saturday about preparing for the day with the help of the Hamilton soundtrack, and last month, the Olympic gold and silver medalist also teased some of her choreography on TikTok.
