Last two Olympic all-around gymnastics champions sunisa lee And simone bilesBoth countries in the United States have officially begun their withdrawal.
Both are set to take part in the 2023 US Classic on August 5 at the Now Arena in the suburbs of Chicago. This competition is the final qualifying event for the US Championships.
Lee, who won the gold medal at Tokyo 2020, is recovering from a kidney-related health issue that kept her out for the last several weeks of her sophomore season at Auburn University.
The 19-year-old said on social media in early April that the issue would not deter her from her dreams of Paris 2024.
“I’m dealing with a non-gymnastics health issue involving my kidneys.” He wrote in a tweet on April 3, “I will never stop chasing my dream to claim Paris in 2024. In fact, this experience has sharpened my vision for the future.”
Things appear to be on track in recent weeks, as she’s shared a number of impressive training videos that include a basic move off the balance beam.
Since the Games in Tokyo, Lee has been on a whirlwind appearance, appearing on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ before beginning her collegiate career at Auburn University. His first year saw the Tigers climb to new heights, including a fourth place finish as a team. His highest ever.
Lee was ranked among the NCAA’s top all-rounders during the 2023 season until he was sidelined with a kidney-related issue.
Seven-time Olympic medalist Biles, who recently married NFL player Jonathan Owens, has been publicly silent about her plans to return to sports, but did not rule out a third Games in 2021 in an exclusive interview.
“Right now, I’m trying to take it one step at a time. “I really feel like I haven’t fully processed Tokyo yet,” she told Olympic.com during her Gold Over America tour in September 2021. Which direction do I have to go?”
Biles continued, “In the back of my mind it’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do it’ but then my body and everything else tells me ‘no’.” “I have to assess it. I’m not sure yet.”
The announcement on Wednesday (June 28) that Biles had registered for the US Classic was the first public indication of Biles’ intentions. The gymnastics star has stayed quiet for the most part since the end of her tour, giving only sporadic interviews that mostly focus on her engagement or marriage.
Usually very active on social media, Biles — who first revealed her history of making Yurchenko double pike on Instagram and Twitter — has yet to post a training video in recent memory.
If Biles, 26, qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, she will be the oldest woman to make the US gymnastics team in two decades. Annia Hatch Athens was 26 in 2004. was the last American woman to qualify for three Olympic Games in gymnastics Dominic DawesWho won medals in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
If both Lee and Biles qualify for Paris 2024, history will also be made as no US Olympic team has ever included more than one past Olympic all-around winner.