2024 Nationals Live Blog – Senior Women Day 1

Olympic year nationals. Excitement et cetera. Four more days of competition until the Olympic team is revealed to be the top five all-arounders from Trials. Since we last met in a live blog, I have much less of a large intestine and many new abdominal scars, but I’m now post-surgery and pre-chemo and just sitting here, so hey why not get back to it? Fair warning, I do forget how to do this.  

The specials session for senior women is about to get underway, with the big news of the day being the withdrawal of Olympic team lock Shilese Jones. The line remains that this should not be an Olympics-jeopardizing injury, so hopefully this is Korngold taking ancestral gymnerd lessons to heart and actually applying the “cover her in bubble wrap” maxim. (Valeri sez do an Ono.) Still, this shoulder injury is at least serious enough for her to withdraw from a national championship that is…not that long before the Olympics. Jones easily meets all the criteria for petitioning to Trials, so she’ll certainly be able to do that as long as she can compete there.

Today, we’re exclusively on Peecork (or YouTube if you’re outside the US, or “outside” the “US”) before graduating to big-girl NBC for day 2. Can’t wait for the 23-minute investigative tribute to the twisties before Simone vaults. End of rotation 1.

Obviously the meet started before the broadcast because Simone is up last, but Sumanasekera opened vault with a solid DTY, good height, bounce back. 14.250. Roberson was also able to take a Cheng to her feet, much better than in podium, 14.000.

Kailya Lincoln has a couple recast hesitations on her opening low bar pirouettes but gets through it, hitting the rest of the routine, just a double tuck dismount with a step back.

Roberson’s second vault is DTY, a little twisted into the mat with a lunge back.

Wong – FX – we see the second half – back 1/2 to front full, a little under with a slide back – double pike, shuffle back – 13.700 so seems like it went well

Solid DTY landing for Esponda with a small bounce back

Hang – BB – wolf double, good – side aerial, larger leg up wobble – lone loso, hit – bhs tuck full is hit with a step back – switch to split to straddle, comfortable – double tuck dismount, step back. That works. 13.450

Carey – FX – good landing on her Moors, small hop to the side, minor pike throughout – DLO 1/1, larger bounce but keeps it in – switch – switch 1/1, feet around for the twist, some foot form deductions etc – full in, bounce back – split leap full – front tuck through to double tuck, chest down but controls it. Good one. 13.600

DiCello – UB – stalder full to maloney to hindorff, gets the combination, small hesitation in hop grip change, hits jaeger, church to pak, solid – van leeuwen, hit – short hs on high – FTDT, hop back. Solid. 14.500

Lee – BB – loso mount, solid – aerial to split to bhs, good – wolf triple – switch to switch 1/2 to split ring jump, smooth – side aerial to loso loso, BIG break but saves it and magically keeps it on – switch ring, large-ish bend to the side – gainer full dismount, hop. Amazing first half, some big wobbles in the second half but should still be a score. 14.200, got her full D score of 6.7, so was able to have big wobbles and still break 14.

Biles – VT – does the Y double pike today and it’s strong, medium lunge back, comfortable. 15.800 with a 9.4 E.

I was kind of joking with NBC beginning its coverage with Simone’s last-up vault and then rotation 1 is over, but that’s just what they did.

Biles with a Cheng second vault, no issues, good distance, flatter than we see from Andrade, but strong, little bounce

Other big news of the first rotation so far is Wong outscoring Carey on floor for what was a solid hit for Jade. She’ll need to do everything at Trials.

Matthews – FX – FTDT to her feet, bounce back – wolf double, hit – front full to 2.5, small step forward but was right into the corner so goes OOB – leg up hop full with good leg position – split leap full, around – double tuck, bounce back

Thomas – FX – switch full, good position but a little under – DLO 1/1 is short with hands down, SIGH – front full to just a layout – switch to split leap 1.5 attempt, won’t get credit for the 1.5 turn – DLO finish, also short, onto hands and knees and now she’s stopping on the floor. Down for a bit, now gets up and salutes and limps off.

Well I hated it.

NBC doing a Benjamin Button rotation, starting with the end of the rotation and then going back. Looking back at Jordan Chiles, who came as a court jester, hitting a solid DTY, kind of large bounce back. Now to Skye Blakely, who hits a solid bars, ending with her double front 1/2 out with a little hop.

Jong ends the first rotation in real time with her floor – FTDT, large bounce back – double tuck, good early open but another fairly large bounce back – leg up hop full is OK, split full – wolf double – back 1.5 to front full, lands a little under, saves it with a slide back – doubel pike, chest down, about three small steps back.

After 1
Biles – 15.800
DiCello – 14.500
Blakely – 14.400
Sumanasekera – 14.250
Lee – 14.200

Strong bars results for both DiCello and Blakely there. Chiles was on the highest-scoring team from Classic for her 14.300 on bars, so others who can bars are aiming to beat that score, which DiCello and Blakely both did.

Owen tells Roethlisberger that Trinity won’t vault now. Unsure about the other events. Roethlisberger now has to explain to everyone Tom Forster about how the team final works and how you’d want to compose a team.

Rotation 2

Lincoln falls on her beam mount – switch 1/2 is lovely – bhs layout 2 feet is nice – aerial to split to straddle, solid rhythm in that combo – wolf double, hit – side aerial, chest down, arm wave wobble – switch, hit – good double pike dismount, step back. 12.300

Perskaia and DeZiel understand Selection Committee Bitch Face when shown on NBC. Alicia, we know you can bitch face when you want to, gotta get in game mode. Come on. 

We’re jumping in to see Leanne’s second vault, which is pretty laid out today. Following a hit DTY, hop to the side, good height 14.200.

Roberson goes 13.250 on bars, which is a 16.

Carey – VT – hits her Cheng, some pike and leg separation, bounce back, solid enough work. 14.500. Useful margin over the solid DTYs earlier.

Hang – FX – wolf triple, gets it around – FTDT, bounce back – 1.5 to front full, college step forward – split leap full, a little under split – double tuck, chest down, hop forward but saves it – popa – switch 1/2.

Second vault from Carey – nice pop on her DTY, great height, bounce back.

We didn’t see Madray Johnson go on beam but she broke 14, which is big in her quest to make trials.

Blakely – BB – wolf triple, nice – tuck full, secure landing – fhs front tuck, secure as well, this is ON so far – switch to switch 1/2, hit – aerial, small foot adjustment into split jump – side aerial, solid – double pike, large bounce back and another step back. Some stuff on the dismount but great on the beam. 14.450 is a big one.

Lee – FX – DLO, bigger bounce back but in bounds – double L, leg around but heel drop in second turn – switch ring to split leap full, hops around the end of the split leap full – back 1.5 to front full, solid, little hop – wolf triple, around – double tuck, bounce back. 13.250

Chiles also goes 14.500 to match DiCello there in the bars race.

DiCello – BB – candle mount, hit – wolf triple, solid – still trying that split full for some reason, under rotated and a large break – bhs loso loso is solid – switch to switch 1/2 to bhs, little slow so might lose it – aerial to split to straddle, hit – side aerial, secure – 2.5 dismount, small hop. Hit routine, but that split full……. 14.100.

Biles – UB – weiler 1/2 to maloney to giant full to tkatchev piked to pak, no trouble – shy hs on low – van leeuwen, hit – short hs on high – hits toe full fine, connects into double double dismount, good. 14.650

Looking back on Chiles on bars – van leeuwen, hit – blind to piked jaeger, comfortable – toe full to tkatchev piked to pak – maloney to gienger, smooth – FTDT, little slide. Yes, nice one to get her 14.500.

Josc is telling Simone that all her handstands looked good. A true friend is one who will lie about your handstands for you.

Sumanasekera – UB – stalder full, late – maloney to pak, good legs together – van leeuwen, legs apart – toe 1/2 to front giant to jaeger, hits, flexed feet – giant 1/2 – FTDT, chest down, two small foot quivers forward. 12.750

We’ve been denied Rivera’s routines, but she’s been on so far with a 14.150 on bars and 13.850 on beam.

Fatta – FX – switch 1/2, around – DLO, chest down, bounce – front 2/1 to front tuck, bounce out of it – split jump full – wolf double – back 2.5, big slide forward – switch to split leap full, scoots it around

After 2
Biles – 30.450
Blakely – 28.850
Chiles – 28.650
DiCello – 28.600
Carey – 28.100

Good fight brewing for the second automatic spot to Trials (which won’t matter because all these people are making Trials, but still).

Both Thomas and Kaliya Lincoln have now scratched the rest of the meet today. I’m sorry, nationals is canceled. You can do gymnastics without Gabby Douglas, Shilese Jones, Trinity Thomas, and Kaliya Lincoln, but why would you.

Rotation 3

Peacock not letting you do screenshots is really harshing my world because that Simone Jade conversation had a lot to work with.

Carey – UB – toe on to bhardwaj, hit – maloney to gienger, secure – yezhova – short hs on low – van leeuwen, leg separation – short hs on high – giant full, well past – FTDT, good landing. 13.500. A solid-for-Jade number.

Hang went 14.200 on vault.

Lee – VT – DTY, hits it, not quite as solid as podium, but good – bounce back with both feet, some legs. 14.000 for Lee on vault is an asset. And a huge slap to anyone else who got a 14.000 on vault and is hoping to be a vaulter.

Blakely – FX – DLO 1/1, gigantic bounce back OOB – split jump full, around – double front, hit, a little under with a bounce back – switch ring – split leap 1.5, nice quick cover to try to get 1.5 credit, but almost none will – wolf double, hit – switch full, around – double tuck, bounce, 13200

Fatta – VT – DTY, around but chest down, larger lunge back

Chiles – BB – front pike mount, hop – bhs loso loso is hit – aerial to straddle to bhs, gets the combination, full turn with a wobble like a true NCAA gymnast – Side somi, lean back, keeps it on the beam – switch to sissone to wolf jump, which was superfluous – side aerial, holds it – switch side, under split a little but secure – double pike, little bounce back