Go Team USA!
The six gymnasts were selected on Sunday during the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, which ran from June 24 to 27 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Biles, 24, stormed out of the gate as the top contender to nail a spot on Team USA and ended up winning the weekend. While she uncharacteristically fell off the balance beam on Sunday, her place in Tokyo was never really in question after winning four gold medals and a bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Simone Biles.Bill Greenblatt/UPI/Shutterstock
“The journey has been surreal, five years later and we’re doing it again,” she told NBC on their live broadcast. “I’m old, I feel like I have a lot of wisdom … so I just want to keep everybody cool, calm, and collected.”
Biles previously opened up to PEOPLE about what she’s looking forward to in Tokyo.
“I’m excited to be in an atmosphere where everybody kind of wants the same thing and is striving for perfection and they’re so dedicated and they’ve been trying so hard,” said Biles. “Soperseverance is what draws me to the Olympics, personally. I think that’s what I’m most excited for.”
Carey, 21,accepted an individual spoton the Olympic Gymnastics Team as she vowed to earlier this month if it was officially offered to her.
Speaking to PEOPLE recently, Carey said, “It would be amazing just to be there andrepresent my country. It’s unbelievable. Just being a role model for little kids is a really cool thing that happens.”
“Definitely vault and floor are my strongest events. I can put up a pretty good score on those two,” she added.
Ahead of the Olympics, Suni Lee, 18, already caught the attention of her longtime hero, five-time Olympic medalist Nastia Liukin.
“Her abilities as a gymnast, especially her bar routine, are incredible,” Liukin toldEllelast month. “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.”
Lee also made sure to thank her father in particular after placing second on Sunday, telling NBC’s live broadcast, “He’s done so much for me.”
“People have told me, ‘You’re going to be the next [Biles]…’ but my journey is totally different compared to hers,” she recently toldKOIN. “So when people tell me that I’m like, ‘y’all can tell me that but I’m going to be the next Jordan and I’m going to be the next Jordan that has never hit potential in a way… I’m not at the best Jordan.’ "
“So in my world, I’m the next Jordan Chiles. I’m the next girl who’s done nothing in her life but then suddenly makes an Olympic team,” she added. “This version of Jordan Chiles is somebody that is going to have fun, go out there with no regrets and finally say that she did it.”
Kayla DiCello, Kara Eaker, Leanne Wong, and Emma Malabuyo were selected as the replacement athletes who will still travel to Tokyo for the Olympics after Sunday’s trials.
Fellow gymnasts Brody Malone, Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus, and Sam Mikulak secured their spots on the U.S. Men’s Olympic Gymnastics Team after their trials on Saturday.
source: people.com
