Blakely recently placed second in the all-around at the national championships, behind Simone Biles, solidifying her status as a favorite to make the five-person team to Paris.
The 19-year-old from Frisco, Texas, was a member of the U.S. teams that won gold medals at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. She has shown signs of improvement this season, especially debuting a new and difficult vault at U.S. Championships.
At the 2021 Olympic Trials, Blakely was injured during warm-ups just before the start of the competition. At the time, she was not expected to be on the national team. She was 16 years old, and the postponement of the Olympics made her eligible to compete. This time, she went into the trials as a favorite to win.
If Blakely is unable to compete at the trials, she cannot petition to make the Olympic team. The selection process allows athletes to petition if they place first or second in the individual all-around at nationals and have a score at nationals that would place them first or second at the trials. While Blakely may have met that criteria, this option is only available if an athlete is ill or has “extenuating circumstances.” According to the process, petitions due to injury cannot be accepted.
Fixes
An earlier version of this article stated that Blakely could petition to be named to the Olympic team even if she was unable to compete in the preliminaries. Petitions due to injuries will not be accepted. This article has been updated.
