Blakely has been a member of the U.S. gold medal-winning teams at the past two world championships and is not a recent Olympic possibility, but last weekend's U.S. championships were certainly a springboard for the 19-year-old.
Blakely landed routines in all eight events, something no other Olympic or world championship skater of her generation has managed to do, and she made a big impact with a new vault that could be the deciding factor at the Olympic Trials later this month.
She completed a vault called a Chen, which features a half-turn as the gymnast dives onto the platform and then a one-and-a-half-turn twist from the front. It is one of the most difficult vaults a female gymnast can perform, and has been perfected by Olympic gold medalists on the apparatus, Biles and Brazil's Rebecca Andrade.
On the first night of nationals, Blakely's debut, Chen, was superb. She soared through the air with a steady technique, landed with her chest nearly vertical, and stabilized herself with just a few jumps. She earned a whopping 15.000 points for the performance, a score surpassed only by Biles. (Biles earned 15.800 for a powerful Yurchenko double pike and 15.000 two days later after falling on the same vault.) No one came closer than Jade Carey, who earned 14.500 and 14.600 points.
Though Blakely's landings were not as strong as Sunday's, earning her only a score of 14.400, her last performance was enough to prove her potential, and if the large gap between her and the next best vaulter remains, she will be a favorite to make the Olympic team.
Blakely came to Worlds on her balance beam and vault strengths thus far, with third-place finishes in both events at nationals adding to her resume. It's unclear how much the U.S. selection committee will consider an athlete's past performances at major championships, but Blakely has struggled on the beam multiple times at Worlds, so it was important for her to stand out in other events, too, and her vault will complement the strengths of the other likely contenders.
Five U.S. women will compete in Paris, but only three will perform each apparatus in the team final. Chelsea Memmel, technical lead for the women's high performance team, said the team event is the country's “number one priority.” Building the highest-scoring team is a challenge, and it's not as simple as putting the top five all-around names on the Olympic roster.
Biles is a sure thing. Two-time world all-around medalist Leah Jones withdrew from nationals because of a shoulder injury, but if healthy in qualifying, she's a near certainty for Paris. Both Biles and Jones can contribute in each event. And Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Li excels on balance beam and balance beam. Her 14.900 on balance beam Sunday was the highest score by an American on that event this year. Despite her vault incident, Li placed fourth in the all-around at nationals, solidifying her status as a front-runner to make the team.
But Lee's low vault and floor exercise scores leave the Americans with some room to fill, which is where Blakely's high vault score would be especially valuable. Blakely's season-best floor score is 13.750, so the U.S. team would also benefit from having a gymnast who is strong on that apparatus.
Kayla DiCello, a Tokyo Olympic reserve, placed second in the all-around floor exercise score over the two days of the U.S. Championships. Her average score of 13.900 was a big improvement from her fall on a tumbling pass at the U.S. Classics. DiCello wasn't perfect in other events Sunday night, falling on bars and staggering badly on balance beam, but she still finished third all-around and could be a favorite to win.
Next up behind DiCello is 16-year-old Tiana Sumanasekera, who averaged a 13.750 on floor exercise but was less successful on other events. Jade Carey is the reigning Olympic champion on floor exercise but hit only 13.600 and 13.700 points for her routines at nationals. Carey also performed the difficult chain vault, averaging a 14.550 over the two days of competition, but her advantage on vault over DiCello may be less significant given Blakely's potential contribution on that event.
Jocelyn Roberson (14.000 Sunday) and Jordan Chiles (14.100) could also help the U.S. on floor exercise. Kariya Lincoln is a wild card; she scored 14.000 on floor at the U.S. Classic but withdrew from national competition before competing in the event. Lincoln will compete in the trials, but her hopes of making the Olympic team will depend in large part on the U.S. selection committee's willingness to select athletes on almost exclusively one apparatus.
Taking into account the highest points each skater achieved in competitions considered “tryout events” for the Olympic team selection process, the highest scoring team would include Biles, Jones, Lee, Blakely and Lincoln, but DiCello and Chiles would have the added benefit of serving as capable backup options on all other apparatus.
The Trials performances will arguably be more important than any other competition this season. If either Blakely or Lee struggle in Minneapolis later this month, a piece of the Olympic puzzle could suddenly fall apart. But for now, both skaters look like favorites because of their performances in Fort Worth, with the others battling for fifth place and the final spot.
