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The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang are in the books, meaning the next Olympic Games are set to be the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
The USA Olympic women's gymnastics team have won the gold medal in each of the last two Olympic Games, as they won it in 2012 in London, England and in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 2012 team, which has been nicknamed the "Fierce Five", consisted of Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber and was the first USA women's gymnastics team to win the gold medal since the team nicknamed the "Magnificent Seven" won it in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States.
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The 2016 team, which has been nicknamed the "Final Five", consisted of Douglas and Raisman once again in addition to Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian. As referenced above, this team also won the gold medal.
The 2020 team, however, is set to consist of just four gymnasts due to a rule change. Who will those four gymnasts be?
Here are the early top four candidates with still more than two years to go until the opening ceremony in Tokyo and tons of variables still not yet known.
Gabby Perea
Gabby Perea just turned 16 years old in January and has never competed in the Summer Olympics before. However, that could very well change in 2020 in Tokyo.
Perea is currently a member of the United States national team, and she has been a member of the team since March of 2016.
In the 2016 Gymnix International Junior Cup in Montreal, Canada, Perea won the all-around title. In the 2017 Gymnix International Junior Cup, she placed second in the all-around competition.
At the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy competition in Jesolo, Italy, she placed third in the all-around competition. Perea also placed third in the all-around competition in 2016 P&G Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, which basically means that she would qualify for the 2020 Olympic team.
In the 2016 P&G Championships, Perea, who has committed the University of California, Berkeley, finished behind only Maile O'Keefe and Riley McCusker, two other 2020 Olympic hopefuls. In the 2017 City of Jesolo Trophy competition, however, Perea beat out O'Keefe for the junior all-around title.
She has won several other gold and silver medals in these and other competitions as well.
Who would the team's second gymnast be?
Ragan Smith
Ragan Smith, 17, has technically already been an Olympian despite the fact that she has never competed in the Olympics, as she was an alternate for the 2016 women's Olympic gymnastics team in Rio de Janeiro.
In the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy competition in Jesolo, Italy, Smith placed second in the all-around competition, and she won the all-around title in the 2017 American Cup in Newark, New Jersey. In the 2017 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, California, Smith won the all-around title as well.
She has won several other gold and silver medals in these and other competitions as well.
Competing in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo is not at the front of Smith's mind at this point, but it remains a goal in the back of her head, which is right where it is for plenty of others right now with still more than two years to go until the opening ceremony.
Who would the team's third gymnast be?
Simone Biles
Simone Biles, 20, took the world by storm with her amazing performances in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and her goal is to return to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Given how well she performed two years ago, don't be surprised if it happens.
As stated, Biles took the world by storm with her performance in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She earned a gold medal for her performance in the floor exercise, a gold medal for her performance on the vault, a gold medal in the all-around competition, and a bronze medal for her performance on the balance beam in addition to the gold medal she won as a member of the team.
Biles also recently made an appearance as a cheerleader for the Houston Texans NFL team, proving that she can pretty much do it all and that she is more than ready to compete in the Olympics again if she attempts to make a return in 2020.
Who would the team's fourth gymnast and team captain be?
Team Captain -- Aly Raisman
Aly Raisman, 23, was the captain of the 2012 women's Olympic gymnastics team in London, and she returned to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro as the captain of the team once again. If she returns to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, expect her to be the team captain once again.
Raisman was the oldest member of the women's Olympic gymnastics teams in both London and Rio, and if she were to return to the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020, that would likely be the case once again. However, there is no reason to doubt that she is not as strong as she has ever been.
While a return to the Olympics is not a sure thing at this point for Raisman, she is an undisputed leader, and she has recently proven that beyond doubt even outside of the gym given the inspiring way by which she has handled the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal.
Raisman and more than 265 others have accused the former USA Gymnastics doctor of sexual assault, and he is set to spend his life behind bars because of it after pleading guilty on several charges.
Of the eight different members of the 2012 and 2016 women's Olympic gymnastics teams, five have come forward with sexual assault allegations against Nassar. Aside of Raisman, the other four are McKayla Maroney, Jordyn Wieber, Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas.
In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Raisman earned a gold medal for her performance in the floor exercise and a bronze medal for her performance on the balance beam in addition to the gold medal she won as a member of the team. She placed fourth in the all-around competition, losing third on a tiebreaker.
In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Raisman earned a silver medal for her performance in the floor exercise as the defending gold medal winner of the event, and she won a silver medal in the all-around competition as well. She also won a gold medal as a member of the team.
Which gymnasts are notable omissions from this team lineup prediction?
Notable Omissions
Madison Kocian
Madison Kocian, 20, was a member of the 2016 women's Olympic gymnastics team in Rio de Janeiro. However, a return to the 2020 Olympics in London is unlikely after the 20-year-old opted to continue competing in gymnastics at UCLA.
Kocian was unlike her four teammates on the 2016 team in that she had not turned pro. As a result, she was the only one with the option to compete at a collegiate level, and that is the road she chose to take with no intention of returning to the Olympics.
In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Kocian earned a silver medal for her performance on the uneven bars in addition to the gold medal she won as a member of the team.
Gabby Douglas
Gabby Douglas, like Kocian, was a member of the 2016 women's Olympic gymnastics team in Rio de Janeiro. She was also a member of the 2012 women's Olympic gymnastics team in London. However, there is an overwhelmingly high likelihood that she will not be returning to the 2020 Olympics in London.
In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Douglas, 22, earned a gold medal for her performance in the all-around competition in addition to the gold medal she won as a member of the team. She finished in 7th place on the balance beam and 8th place on the uneven bars.
In the 2016 Summer Olympics, Douglas failed to medal in an individual event, as she finished in 7th place on the uneven bars. She did, however, still win a gold medal as a member of the team.
Laurie Hernandez
Laurie Hernandez, like Kocian, made her Olympic debut in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as the youngest member of the five women on the "Final Five" gymnastics team at the age of 16 years old.
When the 2020 Summer Olympics roll around, Hernandez, 17, will only be 20 years old, so a return is certainly not out of the question, nor should it be given the success she had two years ago.
At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Hernandez earned a silver medal for her performance on the balance beam in addition to the gold medal she won as a member of the team. She is definitely the notable omission with the best chance of being a member of the 2020 women's Olympic gymnastics team in Tokyo.
