USA national team coordinator Martha Karolyi will lead a selection committee to fill in the other four spots behind Biles. Since aging out of juniors and into senior competition, she’s held her own and placed third (behind Simone Biles and Aly Raisman) in the all-around at the P&G National Championships in 2016.
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Douglas, 20, and Raisman, 22, are the first Americans to make consecutive Olympics teams since 2000.
Teammate and three-time world champion Simone Biles wasted no time with a witty response: “We’re too young to die”. For the team competition in Rio she’ll be a contributor on floor, beam and vault with a shot at bars to qualify again in the all-around. “Whatever happens, happens. I can’t control who makes the team or not”. “I’m an emotional person, and it’s a very good emotional night”. If she is worse than she was here, she puts pressure on the entire team.
The only thing missing on a resume that includes 14 world championship medals and four national titles is Olympic gold. Ashton Locklear and Ragan Smith join Skinner as alternates. She was able to hit her bar routine, which is where she’ll have the biggest impact during the three-up, three-count team final.
Karolyi, when asked whether she still viewed Douglas as a legitimate contender for an all-around medal or whether the gymnast is more of a specialist who can also compete all four events, also refused to write off the defending champ.
Hernandez, meanwhile, continued her rise this spring.
SAN JOSE, California Gabby Douglas will have about a month to rebuild her shaken confidence ahead of the Rio Summer Games after she was gifted a spot on the us team following a disappointing display at the USA team trials.
On balance beam, her third rotation of the night Sunday, Raisman shined and looked nothing short of superbly confident. What you can’t see from this photo is that she’s about 10 feet off the ground.
This was not supposed to be part of the story reigning Olympic gymnastics all-around champion Gabby Douglas had in mind when she set her sights on competing in this year’s Games. Her dance-heavy floor routines are a favorite among the crowds and have earned her the nickname “Baby Shakira” with her fans. And only four months ago Douglas put up a competitive score of 60.165 in winning the AT&T American Cup, a prestigious invitational world cup meet.
Will she repeat as all-around champ in Rio?: Probably not, but gymnastics is an interesting sport where anything is possible. And Kocian is the team’s go-to pro on uneven bars (she won the uneven bars competition at the trials). Retired Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton told espnW that Biles is “the best I’ve ever seen”. Now, she is really going to live up to her grandma name.
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To be sure, that has been clearer than even the line-up of this team. Raisman – who is the oldest member of this year’s team – won gold in the team and floor competitions. “We all want to win that team gold medal – that’s the priority for us”. Biles herself will be expected to win as many as five gold medals. Even before the weekend began, common wisdom was that she’d be on the five-woman roster, no matter what. “She navigated through it, and I think she’ll do fine”.
