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Former gymnast Laurie Hernandez has picked Simone Biles and Shilese Jones as the front runners to make it to the five-member USA Gymnastics Team for the upcoming Paris Olympics. The U.S. Gymnastics trials will kick off on Thursday, June 27.
Hernandez, along with Biles, was part of the Olympic gold medal winning team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Hernandez had expressed the desire to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but she did not qualify for the competition. The 24-year-old announced her retirement later in 2021 and then helped NBC with Tokyo Olympics coverage.
Ahead of the Paris Olympics, Hernandez will return as the gymnastics correspondent for NBC. For now, she is analysing the American gymnasts who will likely secure qualification at the upcoming U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Team Trials, set to take place in Minneapolis.
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Hernandez picked her friend and former teammate Simone Biles as the frontrunner for one of the five spots in the USA's squad. Speaking with US Weekly in an interview, she said:
“An obvious one is Simone Biles. Barring any injuries, she’s in and Team USA definitely needs her.”
Another gymnast Hernandez favored to join the squad was Shilese Jones.
"Shilese Jones is also an athlete who has been really just on [Simone’s] tail throughout the year,” Hernandez added.
The 24-year-old claimed that the other three spots were wide open but gave a thumbs up to Skye Blakely, who has shown impressive form this year.
“She's always so friendly and kind”- Laurie Hernandez on relationship with Simone Biles
Since her retirement, Laurie Hernandez has been a regular at gymnastics events as a correspondent. As such, she gets to meet her former teammates and gymnastics friends on a regular basis. As she heads to another competition in Minneapolis, the Olympic medalist is excited to meet Simone Biles and Co.
“Especially at these competitions, I’m able to go and say ‘Hi’ and she’s always so friendly and kind and I can tell she’s kind to her teammates as well,” she told US Weekly.
She also claimed that it was important to have a leader, Simone Biles in this case, in the team to guide the other gymnasts.
“I think it’s important that we have an athlete who has been around for so long kind of guiding this way for athletes that are up-and-coming. So that’s wonderful,” Hernandez expressed.
Biles will most likely be the oldest gymnast in the USA's 5-member squad for the Paris Olympics. Even if she is not the oldest, she will definitely be the most experienced one.
