World renowned Olympic gymnastics legend, Martha Karolyi, has her roster set for the Rio Olympic Games, despite the Olympic trials still 10 days away. This is not a surprise for gymnastics fans across the world. The five women who will likely be the Rio team clearly separated themselves from the pack at this weekend’s U.S. gymnastics championships.
The Olympic team will include members of the “Fierce Five,” but also add new blood to the mix. National team coordinator Martha Karolyi won’t name names, but she admits she has her Olympic team in mind, and this weekend did little to change her mind. At this point, the betting odds are that the five gymnasts going to Rio are the five who led the all-around standings after the P&G Championships. They are, in order: Biles, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas and Madison Kocian. “I think they proved themselves very well,” Karolyi said. “But we have to see them one more time.”
Simone Biles was a no-brainer even before nationals. She hasn’t lost an all-around competition in more than three years, a stretch of domination never before seen in women’s gymnastics. She’s won the last three world titles, usually by wide margins, and on Sunday night crushed the rest of the field by almost four points to pick up her fourth U.S. crown. Biles is expected to win gold in the all-around in August. However, the Olympic jinx still exists: only the reigning female world champions have gone on to win the Olympic title.
Olympic fans will no doubt see Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian at the Rio Olympic games. Raisman finished second during Sunday night’s gymnastics championships. Raisman finished second to Biles, in her best performance since her return to competition in 2015. Her floor routine on Sunday night mirrored her performance in London, where she took home the gold medal.
Douglas had a disappointing performance, failing at the uneven bars and the floor exercise. She finished fourth, one spot better than last year’s performance. Hernandez and Kocian were the ones who, coming in, had the most to prove. Hernandez was the 2015 junior champion and expectations are high as we head towards Rio. Hernandez was cool and confident, tying Raisman for second the first night and winding up third overall. She showed she can give the Americans their third score in team finals on both uneven bars and balance beam.
