Simone Biles hopes she will be sent to Paris for her third Olympic Games after the US Olympic gymnastics trials in Minneapolis. The athlete is one of the 16 women and 20 men who hope to be selected for the US Olympic gymnastics team for the Paris Olympics.
She will face strong competition in Minneapolis after becoming the most-awarded gymnast in history at last season’s global championships. Moreover, her remarkable comeback to gymnastics after taking a long absence to focus on her mental health might result in her becoming just the fourth American woman to compete in the sport at three Olympics.
Biles recently won a record-breaking seventh all-round title at the US Championships four weeks ago. This win showed her dominance as she aimed for her spot after her withdrawal from the Tokyo Games due to “the twisties”, a mental block that causes gymnasts to lose track of their body positions.
Hopeful athletes for the US gymnastics team
Aside from Biles, the reigning Olympic all-round champion Suni Lee is also making a comeback to the sport after receiving a kidney ailment diagnosis last year. Other favourites to make the five-person roster include Olympic floor champion Jade Carey and team silver medallist Jordan Chiles.
Gabby Douglas, a three-time Olympic gold medallist, had been hoping to rejoin the Olympic team this year after taking a break from gymnastics, but her hopes were dashed when she suffered an ankle injury last month.
Following the two days of competition at the trials, the athlete with the greatest overall score will automatically be selected for the Olympic team. A selection committee then selects the remaining four team members based on their performances at competitions starting in September 2023.
Source: CNN