U.S. Core Hydration Classic 2024 Preview: Olympic all-around champions Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas and Suni Lee battle for American supremacy

The U.S. Core Hydration Classic 2024 is guaranteed to see some spellbinding performances, but one particular showdown has interests piqued. On 18 May, the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic all-around champions - Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Suni Lee - will take on each other for the first time ever.

Back at the 2012 London Olympics, Douglas became the first-ever African-American gymnast to win an Olympic all-around gold in the sport. She also stood atop the podium for the team event, making her the first American to win the all-around indivisual and team championships at the same Games.

A couple of years later, Simone Biles broke out onto the international stage. Douglas and Biles were teammates at the 2016 Rio Olympics, leading Team USA to their second consecutive gold, with Biles winning the all-around title.

After their heroics in Rio, Biles continued to dominate the gymnastics world, while Douglas chose to take an extended hiatus without announcing her retirement. In 2020, it was Biles and youngster Suni Lee who teamed up at the Tokyo Olympics. While the former was the favorite to win the all-around, Lee walked away with the win after Biles was forced to step away from competing due to her mental health struggles.

Now, Gabby Douglas has returned to competitive gymnastics after eight years, and fans will finally get the opportunity to see the three Olympic champions in action together.

So far this year, the 2012 gold-medalist has participated only in the American Classic, where she seemed shaky but impressed audiences on the vault and balance beams. Meanwhile, Lee opened her season at the Winter Cup where she faltered slightly. For Biles, this appearance at the U.S. Core Hydration Classic will mark her competitive debut of the Olympic year.

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U.S. Core Hydration Classic: Other gymnasts to watch out for

Meanwhile, day two of the U.S Core Hydration Classic will feature plenty of outstanding gymnasts even aside from Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Suni Lee. Also taking to the mat at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut will be 2020 Olympic floor event gold medalist Jade Carey and World Champions Skye Blakely, Jordan Chiles and Shilese Jones.

All of these gymnasts will be in action in the second session of the day on Sunday, 19 May. The session begins at 7 PM ET and will run for a total of two hours. Fans excited to see this showdown among America’s best gymnasts can tune into a live stream of the U.S. Core Hydration Classic on both NBC'S Peacock and USA Gymnastics' YouTube channel.