The Olympics is an exciting time for all sports fans alike. That being said, gymnastics is one of the most exciting events leading up to the Olympics. While many other Olympic sports like Basketball or Soccer can be watched and are accessible outside of the Olympics, besides college gymnastics, it does not follow suit. Because of this, the Olympics is the truest stage for us all to enjoy gymnastics on. For the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer games, Jade Carey, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera, and Simone Biles will look to use their experience in these high pressure situations to achieve a gold for their country.
Jade Carey
From Philomath, Oregon, Jade Carey will be competing in her second Olympic games in Paris. The product of Oregon State College Gymnastics, finished fourth overall in the 2024 Olympic Trials. Carey is used to being the underdog. In an unconventional road to the Olympics, Carey started competing in elite gymnastics at 17, rather than the average age of 12-13. That being said, once she was in, there was no stopping her. At only 24 years old, she has accomplished a great deal. Carey carries the accolades of PAC-12 Gymnast of the Year in 2022 and 2023, PAC-12 Freshman of the year in 2022, an individual and a team gold in the 2018 Pan American Championships, second all around and on floor in the 2024 NCAA championships, and most recently the all-around title at the 2024 American Classic, only 3 days after her NCAA season ended. Carey’s strongest events include floor and vault. She achieved six perfect tens on the floor in her time in the NCAA. The mix of talent and experience from Carey make her an exceptional addition to this Olympic squad.
Suni Lee
Suni is from St. Paul, Minnesota. Her first big break was making the U.S junior national team at 14 years old. From there, she competed in the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. In this competition, Suni won the all around title individually, and with team USA. Suni was also the superstar of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Gymnastics team. She won a gold all around, and a bronze on bars. To cap off her collegiate career after the Olympics, Lee also became the NCAA beam champion and the SEC bars champion. . Although all of this was great for Suni, in early 2023 she was faced with major health issues. She had symptoms including swelling and gaining weight quickly, and it ended up being a kidney disease. Because of this, Lee had to prematurely end her Sophomore season at Auburn, and withdraw from the World Championships and Pan American Games. Although it did threaten her Olympics 2024 dream, Suni pulled through in the Qualifiers and will compete with Team USA in a few weeks.
Jordan Chiles
Product of UCLA Gymnastics, Chiles is originally from Vancouver, WA. All around, Chile is very strong in every event. Her strength throughout her college career was her dynamic floor routines, but she has Nationally and Internationally won in all of the events. Chile's first International win came in 2014 with a 2nd on Vault in the City of Jesolo Trophy. Chiles also joined the Olympic squad in 2020, like Lee and Carey. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Chiles did not win any individual events. That being said, since the Tokyo Olympics, Chiles won the floor event in the 2022 Paris World Challenge Cup, got second on vault and floor at the 2022 World Championships, and got second on vault and third all around at the 2023 Pan American games. Chiles' confidence, energy, and showmanship is an excellent addition to this Team USA roster.
Hezly Rivera
Perhaps the most exciting fact about Rivera is that she is only 16 years old. Rivera is the 2-23 junior all-around national champion. . She made her senior debut in June, and moved to Texas to train with gymnastics legend Valeri Liukin (father of Nastia Luikin). Nastia won the Olympic all around in 2008, so this is a huge advantage for Rivera as she makes her Olympic debut. A key factor to Rivera’s success on this team is her difficulty on bars. She has a 6.1 on difficulty for bars, and a 6.0 on beam. These two difficulty scores truly set her up for success and high scores. From Oradell, New Jersey, Rivera began gymnastics only in 2013. An article by USA gymnastics reveals that Rivera won the 2023 Winter Cup in Louisville, the 2023 Xfinity U.S Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, and the 2024 WIntercup again. Rivera will use her new confidence, energy, and difficulty of her routines to hang with such an experienced group of teammates.
Simone Biles
Last but certainly not least, gymnastics legend Simone Biles. Simone is the most decorated gymnast in history. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Simone broke into the gymnastics world fast. And once she entered, she never stopped. In 2013 at the Antwerp Championship, Simone introduced “the Biles”. This skill she introduced on the floor was a double layout with a half twist. This was only the starting line of the iconic things Biles would do for gymnastics. Biles went to her first Olympic games in Rio, in 2016. This was following her four World Championship golds in 2014, and another four just one year later. At the Rio games, Biles received gold in all around, team, vault, and floor. And the beam? Still a bronze. Fast forward to 2019, the Biles II was created. A double tucked backflip with a triple twist. Biles also became a huge advocate for mental health during the 2020 Tokyo games. After pulling herself out of the Olympics that year, Biles made her mental health a priority. There are so many good things to be said about Simone. Simones wins and medals speak for themselves, but Simone is also recognized as a great leader. With her undeniable talent, energy, and leadership, this team is in great hands.
The 2024 Paris Olympics USA Women's Gymnastics Team is undeniably a force to be reckoned with. With a mix of talent, energy, showmanship, confidence, and experience, this team has it all.