U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials 2024: Gymnasts who will be in pursuit of defending their Olympic gold medals

Minnesota is all set to host the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials between June 27 and 30 at the Target Center. The U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials will also be the most significant stop for the USA gymnasts as the event will decide the five gymnasts each in the men’s and women’s categories who will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the United States collected six medals - two gold, two silver, and two bronze. However, two of the gold medalists from Tokyo will face a significant challenge, i.e., not only qualifying for the Paris Olympics but also defending their Olympic titles. We will now look at the athletes competing in the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials as they aim to defend their Olympic titles.

Gymnasts who will be in pursuit of defending their Olympic Titles at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials

Suni Lee

Suni Lee at the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships . (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Suni Lee achieved an impressive performance during the qualifications of the women’s all-around scoring a total of 57.166 to finish third overall, with 14.333 in vault, 15.200 in uneven bars, 14.200 on balance beam, and 13.433 in the floor exercise at the Tokyo Olympics.

However, following Simone Biles’ withdrawal from the event owing to mental health issues, Lee, who was the next best performer in the qualifications for the USA, was expected to deliver an impressive show and win a medal in the finals.

Lee met these expectations by securing a total of 57.433 points to top a strong field, achieving a total of 57.433 points to top a competitive field, scoring 14.600 on the vault, 15.300 on uneven bars, 13.833 on the balance beam, and 13.700 on floor exercise.

With this, she also became only the sixth woman representing the USA to clinch a gold in the all-around after Mary Lou Retton (1984), Carly Patterson (2004), Nastia Liukin (2008), Gabby Douglas (2012), and Simone Biles (2016).

The 21-year-old will be aiming to defend her Olympic title by qualifying in the USA’s five-member women’s team through her performance at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials. After making a comeback to the sport following battling with incurable kidney disease, Lee has shown glimpses of her form, achieving a combined total of 110.650 to finish fourth at the 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

Jade Carey

Jade Carey after winning the Women's Floor Final on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympicz (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Jade Carey was a heavy favorite for a medal in the women’s vault event as she had secured the second-highest overall score in the prelims with 15.166 after Biles. However, she finished last in the individual finals after recording 12.416 points.

However, Jade Carey bounced back strongly by executing a phenomenal routine to score 14.366 points in the women’s floor exercise to bag her first Olympic medal in the form of gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Carey will look to put on a remarkable show at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials and secure her place in her second consecutive Olympic Games. At the Core Hydration Classic and U.S. Gymnastics Championships, she was impressive as she came fourth and seventh respectively in the all-around events.