MINNEAPOLIS — Years of training, sacrifice and preparation all come to fruition this weekend.
Five spots will be awarded to each of the U.S. men's and women's gymnastics teams at the Olympic Trials, which begin Thursday. Both teams will compete over two days, with the men competing Thursday and Saturday and the women competing Friday and Sunday.
Each team has a different selection procedure and with six events for the men and four for the women, the jigsaw puzzle is a little more complicated, but consistency and the ability to produce high scores will be key for both teams.
Let's take a look at what it takes to get on each team.
Who will be on the U.S. women's gymnastics team for the 2024 Olympics?
The scores from the two days of competition will be added up, and the winner will be selected for the national team at the Paris Olympics. Let's predict whether Simone Biles, the Olympic gold medalist who has not lost in the all-around competition for 11 years, will win.
Because the judging format for the team final requires each country to send three skaters to each event and have each's score count, Biles is the ultimate relief: The U.S. has her in all four events, confident that she'll not only land the hits, but also get the high scores.
Get the latest Olympic news via text! Join the USA TODAY Sports WhatsApp channel
That leaves three spots. The committee could go by ranking, or it could look further down the rankings for athletes who can shore up weaker events, depending on who finishes second through fourth. For example, if the top four are really solid on uneven bars and balance beam but only so-so on floor exercise and vault, the committee might look for athletes who can do better in those events.
The leading contenders are Leigh Jones, an all-around medalist at the past two world championships, reigning Olympic champion Suni Li, Tokyo floor exercise gold medalist Jade Carey, Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles and Skye Blakely, a member of the past two world championship teams who debuted her phenomenal vault at last month's U.S. championships. Blakely was injured during training on Wednesday, but USA Gymnastics has not provided an update on her condition.
Also keep an eye on Tokyo alternates Kayla DiCello and Liane Wong, as well as Joske Roberson, a member of last year's World Championship team. If you're looking for dark horses, Hesley Rivera and Tianna Sumanasekera could make for interesting developments.
The full team will be announced Sunday night.
Who will be on the U.S. men's gymnastics team for the 2024 Olympics?
Like the women, the men's scores from both days of competition are added together, but unlike the women's, the winner is only guaranteed a place in the Paris team if he finishes in the top three in all three events.
Remember what I said about the jigsaw puzzle? The U.S. men are serious about winning their first Olympic team medal since 2008, and the selection committee is trying to find the right combination that can produce the highest scores in the team final. Having a well-rounded athlete who performs well in at least three sports will go a long way to helping them achieve that goal.
Brody Malone, who won his third national title earlier this month, came close to winning by winning the horizontal bar, placing second on the rings, fourth on the pommel horse and fifth on the parallel bars, and if he can do the same in the heats, he'll be guaranteed a trip to Paris.
So did Fred Richard and Coy Young, who placed second and third at nationals and finished in the top five in two other events. Richard took first place on floor exercise and second on horizontal bars, while Young took second on parallel bars and fourth on horizontal bars. Young earned the second-highest score of the tournament on pommel horse on the second night and is the reigning world silver medalist in that event.
After that, the challenge will be to find players who can add big points, or at least perform consistently well, in the events where the Americans must fill the gaps.
The candidates are Tokyo Olympians Yul Moldauer and Shane Wiskas, last year's world team member Paul Judah and Donnell Wittenberg, a two-time world championship medalist and an alternate in 2016. Also keep an eye on Cameron Bock, Colt Walker and Asher Hong.
The question is whether the selection committee will decide that the other events are solid enough but that a high score is needed on pommel horse, traditionally the U.S. men's weakest event. If so, they could choose Steven Nedorosic, the 2021 world champion on that event, or Patrick Hoopes.
The men's team will be announced Saturday night.
