Instagram/SimoneBiles Simone Biles & Mckayla Skinner
This summer, six women will make their way to Tokyo as part of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team.
Following last months’ performance at the Olympic Team Trials in St. Louis, the U.S. team members are steadfast in their determination to secure the gold once again– a trend they have continued since the 2012 Olympics.
Here’s a look at the six women competing as part of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics Team:
Simone Biles (Team)
Age: 24
Height: 4’8″
Born: Columbus, Ohio
Biles won four gold medals and a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
According to Biography.com, she won her first all-around title in 2013.
Two years later, she took home her third all-around title before gearing up for the 2016 Summer Games. In 2019, she set a world record after taking home her 25th World Championship medal.
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Biles reflected on her last Olympics experience, stating, “Everybody had such high expectations for me that at the end of the day, I feel like it didn’t matter what I did, as long as I satisfied everybody around me.”
Biles admitted to Today’s Hoda Kotb last month that her performance in St. Louis didn’t “meet her personal standards.”
She explained, “I’m a little bit older, so I get tired quicker… I was really happy, but I was just sad because everybody came out here to watch us and I didn’t give them my best performance. But at the end of the day, it is what it is.”
Sunisa Lee (Team)
Age: 18
Height: 5’0″
Born: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Lee started training as a gymnast in 2009.
During training for the Olympics, according to Elle.com, Lee’s father had just been paralyzed, she lost her aunt and uncle from COVID, and she was in the process of recovering from a broken foot.
Lee made the U.S. junior national team at age 14.
Speaking to Elle, five-time Olympic medalist Nastia Liukin recently shared of the athlete, “Her abilities as a gymnast, especially her bar routine, are incredible. But it’s the unparalleled mental strength that she has shown during the most difficult time of her life that make her the person she is.”
Jordan Chiles (Team)
Age: 20
Height: 4’11”
Born: Tualatin, Oregon
Chiles is slated to attend UCLA– she deferred her attendance until after the Olympics, according to USA Today.
Her USA Gymnastics profile reveals that she intends on majoring in Zoology.
Speaking to Today’s Hoda Kotb about her Trials experience, Chiles explained, “I already, at the beginning, was kind of tearing up. But I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be, so I just wanted to go out there and really show everybody who I am as a person,” Chiles said. “And having (Biles) by my side 24/7 and giving me encouraging words every day definitely helped and it was very motivational. Very happy to have someone like her.”
Grace McCallum (Team)
Age: 18
Height: 5’2″
Born: Cambridge, Minnesota
At the St. Louis Olympic Trials, Grace McCallum finished in fourth place and was selected as the fourth member of the U.S. team.
USA Gymnastics said in a statement, per Deseret News, “Grace demonstrated consistency and resilience across both days of competition at the Olympic Trials, hitting all eight routines. In addition, her past international experience and success as a member of the 2018 and 2019 World Championship gold-medal teams contributed to the committee’s final decision.”
After the Olympics wrap up, McCallum will attend the University of Utah, where she’ll continue her gymnastics career as part of the university’s team.
McKayla Skinner (Individuals)
Age: 24
Height: 5’0″
Born: Gilbert, Arizona
In the words of Time, Skinner was “within a hair of making the four-person team,” but the USAG committee awarded that spot to McCallum.
In Tokyo, she will compete in individual events. If Skinner is granted the top two scores on the individual events during qualifications, she has the ability to compete on all events in Tokyo, according to Time.
Skinner recently graduated from the University of Utah, where she attended class whilst also training for the Olympic Trials. The 24-year-old was an alternate for the Rio Games.
Jade Carey (Individuals)
Age: 21
Height: 5’2″
Born: Phoenix, Arizona
Carey will be competing on the vault and floor in Tokyo.
Fans may have noticed that her spot, interestingly enough, was already guaranteed under the FIG, which dictates the team’s structure at the Olympics, according to USA Today.
The outlet reported, “Rather than five team members as it has been since 2012, the FIG reduced the team roster to four spots and add up to two individual competitors per team.”
The Tokyo games mark Carey’s first Olympics.