Race to join Simone Biles at Paris 2024 heats up as Skye Blakely soars, Shilese Jones deals with injury and Suni Lee returns to all-around competition

The battle for the final spot

With Biles, Jones, Blakely and Lee looking to be likely contenders for Team USA in Paris, the battle for the final spot promises to be intense in Minneapolis.

Officials will be looking for the complement to those four, filling in any weakness across the four events for the three-up, three-count medal round. For Team USA this season, that could be mean whomever can provide the biggest boost on the floor exercise.

2021 world all-around bronze medallist and Tokyo 2020 alternate Kayla DiCello has had an up-and-down season. She was brilliant at the Winter Cup in February, but then had two major errors at the U.S. Classic.

In Ft. Worth, DiCello was solid on night one, but struggled on the uneven bars on night two, falling and adding an extra swing. She was second on the floor exercise across the two nights of competition in Ft. Worth.

If floor exercise does end up the determining factor for the final spot, that gives the reigning Olympic champion on the event, Jade Carey, a chance at a return trip. She’s finished fifth and fourth on the event at the U.S. Classic and U.S. championships, respectively.

Her Tokyo teammate Jordan Chiles, a team silver medallist, scored 14.100 on the event night two, the highest of the competition other than Biles, boosting her chances as well.

The only other woman to break 14 points on the event was 2023 world team member Joscelyn Roberson, who earned a 14.000 on the event Sunday (2 June).

One other floor worker to keep an eye on is Kaliya Lincoln, the 2023 Pan Am Games gold medallist on floor. She withdrew from the U.S. championships after tweaking her ankle during practice but was named to the trials.

Last month, she, too, earned a 14.000 on floor at the U.S. Classic.