Current:Home > NewsMeet the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team, headlined by Simone Biles, Suni Lee -MacroWatch
Meet the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team, headlined by Simone Biles, Suni Lee
View
Date:2025-04-16 14:08:17
The decision is in, and the U.S. women's gymnastics team for the 2024 Paris Olympics has been finalized.
Simone Biles is on it, of course. She is heavily favored to win her second all-around Olympic gold medal, and tasked with leading the Americans to another team victory at the Games. The U.S. women have won two of the past three team golds, and their chief rival − Russia − has been barred from competing in team competitions.
Biles will be joined on the team by a few of her Olympic teammates from 2021 − and one notable newcomer. Here's a complete breakdown of the team.
Simone Biles
- Age: 27
- Height: 4' 8"
- Hometown: Spring, Texas
- Best event(s): Floor exercise, vault, balance beam
- What more is there to say about Biles? The greatest gymnast of her generation is back for a third trip to the Summer Games, where she will look to add to the seven Olympic medals − including four golds − she has already won. After coming back from a bout of the "twisties" in Tokyo, she has not just looked like her old self over this past year − in many ways, it appears she's gotten even better. It would not be a surprise if she matches her performance from last year's world championships, where she won four golds and a silver, at the Paris Games.
Suni Lee
- Age: 20
- Height: 5' 0"
- Hometown: Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Best event(s): Balance beam, uneven bars
- What to know: Lee is the reigning all-around Olympic champion and, like Biles, she is in the midst of a comeback. After competing collegiately at Auburn, she was diagnosed with a pair of kidney ailments that caused her body to retain fluids and hindered her ability to train. It took her several months of adjusting medication before she was able to return to the gym, and she has only recently been back at full strength in all-around competition. Despite her time away from the sport, Lee remains one of the world's best − particularly on uneven bars, where her scores sometimes eclipse Biles'.
Jordan Chiles
- Age: 23
- Height: 4' 11"
- Hometown: Vancouver, Washington
- Best event(s): Uneven bars, floor exercise
- What to know: At one point, it looked like Chiles might be left on the outside of the Olympic picture. But the 2021 Olympic team veteran has come on strong over the past few weeks, with decent scores at nationals and a particularly brilliant showing on the first day of the Olympic trials. Chiles, who competed colleigately at UCLA, is a longtime training partner and friend of Biles' who always brings energy and positive vibes to the gym. She's capable of not just filling in but contributing on any apparatus and is expected to play a key role for the team in Paris.
Jade Carey
- Age: 24
- Height: 5' 2"
- Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
- Best event(s): Vault, floor exercise
- What to know: Yet another veteran of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she won gold on floor exercise, Carey went on to compete collegiately at Oregon State before returning to the elite circuit ahead of Paris. She's struggled at times − including a 15th-place finish at the 2023 national championships − but shown steady improvement in recent months, including at trials. Carey will likely be counted on to deliver big scores on floor exercise and vault.
Hezly Rivera
- Age: 16
- Hometown: Oradell, New Jersey
- Best event(s): Balance beam, uneven bars
- What to know: Of the five members on this team, Rivera probably comes as the biggest surprise. The 2023 U.S. junior champion has adapted quickly to the senior level, finishing sixth in the all-around at the national championships earlier this month. This is her first year at the senior level, so she doesn’t have a ton of international experience. But there’s plenty of experience on the team, so she can learn without a lot of pressure being on her directly.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Travis Barker's Daughter Alabama Barker, 18, Admits She's Taking Weight-Loss Medication
- Online account thought to belong to Trump shooter was fake, source says
- AP Week in Pictures: Global
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Yoga, meditation and prayer: Urban transit workers cope with violence and fear on the job
- Jake Paul, Mike Perry engage in vulgar press conference before their fight Saturday night
- Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden, to acquire Tex-Mex chain Chuy's for $605 million
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Major League Soccer hopes new roster rules allow teams to sign more star talent
Ranking
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Bissell recalls more than 3.5 million steam cleaners due to burn risk
- Montana seeks to revive signature restrictions for ballot petitions, including on abortion rights
- CBS News President Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews inducted into NAHJ Hall of Fame
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- How bootcamps are helping to address the historic gap in internet access on US tribal lands
- GOP convention sets the stage for the Democratic convention in Chicago, activists and police say
- Accused of biting police official, NYC Council member says police were the aggressors
Recommendation
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
King Charles opens new, left-leaning U.K. Parliament in major public address after cancer diagnosis
Pregnant Brittany Mahomes Details Postpartum Hair Loss Before Welcoming Baby No. 3 With Patrick Mahomes
Flight Attendant Helps Deliver Baby the Size of Her Hand in Airplane Bathroom
NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
12-foot Skelly gets a pet dog: See Home Depot's 2024 Halloween line
Former Trump executive Allen Weisselberg released from jail after serving perjury sentence
Thousands celebrate life of former fire chief killed at Trump rally, private funeral set for Friday