Simone Biles qualifies for her third Olympics as Hezly Rivera snags fifth spot on the team (2024)

MINNEAPOLIS —Simone Biles has officially punched her ticket to a third Olympic Games.

She will be joined in Paris this summer by Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera.

The team was selected at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials in Minneapolis on Sunday after two days of competition. With four returning Tokyo Olympians, it is the oldest and most-decorated U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team in history.

Biles, 27, will be the oldest female American gymnast to compete at the Olympics in 72 years.

She secured an automatic spot on the Paris team by finishing first in the all-around, flanked by Lee and Chiles. The balance beam was treacherous, with falls from all three top finishers, including Biles, the reigning world champion.

Biles credited “being in a good mental spot” for helping her qualify for her third Olympics.

Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong were named as alternates. Wong was also an alternate for the Tokyo Games.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock, starting with the Opening Ceremony July 26 at 12 p.m. ET.

Alicia Sacramone Quinn, the strategic lead at USA Gymnastics, said the selection committee, which she heads, "had their eye" on Rivera and sees her as someone who could represent the U.S. at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"It was a hard decision,” she said of picking the team. "All the athletes did their jobs; they did what they needed to do."

While there were some mistakes during Sunday’s trials, Quinn said, "better here than in Paris."

Lee, the Tokyo Olympics all-around champion, won the uneven bars with a newly upgraded routine. She flawlessly connected daring release moves, including a Nabieva and a Bhardwaj.

Simone Biles qualifies for her third Olympics as Hezly Rivera snags fifth spot on the team (1)

Her stunning performance comes as she's been battling two types of kidney disease.

"It was just such a hard, incredible journey," she told NBC's Hoda Kotb. "There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick and it was just so hard to stay motivated, watching everyone get better and I can’t even get back in the gym, and constantly like self doubting myself. But once I had those people around me who lifted me up and supported me, I knew this was something that I wanted."

Chiles' dreams of returning to the Games were in jeopardy after she fell on beam, but she sealed her fate dancing to Beyoncé on floor, tumbling like a pro.

Carey, the reigning Olympic gold medalist on floor, anchored the trials with a high-energy floor routine. She was second on floor at trials, bested only by Biles.

The teammates are hoping for redemption in Paris, which means something different to each gymnast.

"We all have some redemption that we want soit’sreally exciting for the four of us [Tokyo Olympians] to be back, with Hezley too," Carey said.

Carey stumbled in the vault finals at Tokyo, tripping on the runway, and missed the podium. Biles withdrew from all event finals but the beam at those Games because she was dealing with the "twisties," a loss of spatial awareness midair.

"This is definitely our redemption tour," Biles said. "I feel like we all have more to give and our Tokyo performances weren’t the best. We weren't under the best circumstances either but I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we’re better athletes."

She told Kotb: "I think that we all have a little bit more to give, I know we’re more mature, I think our gymnastics is better, I think we’re a little more confident in what we’re doing. So we’re excited."

Lee said Sunday they are hoping for a team gold, which eluded them in Tokyo. The Russian Olympic Committee took gold and the U.S. the silver.

Rivera, who turned 16 on June 4, will be the only teenager on a team of veterans, but she proved she can withstand Olympic-level pressure with a clutch routine on the balance beam.

Despite having watched Lee have an uncharacteristically rough outing on the beam directly before her, Rivera nailed her routine and tied Biles for the two-day average on the event.

"My mentality was that I had nothing to lose, so I just went out there and did my best, gave it my all, most importantly," she said.

Rivera said she was shocked to hear her name called for the team.

“I was pretty surprised to hear my name, butI’vealso been working for this my whole life," she said.

Three front-runners were injured in the lead-up to Friday’s competition, taking world champions Skye Blakely, Shilese Jones and Kayla DiCello out of Olympic contention. Blakely and DiCello both ruptured Achilles tendons. The nature of Jones' injury remains unknown.

On Friday, Biles led the all-around standings by 2.5 points over Chiles, and Lee rounded out the top three.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock, starting with the Opening Ceremony July 26 at 12 p.m. ET.

Kaetlyn Liddy

I’m the newsroom coordinator for NBC News Digital and cover all things gymnastics, culture and breaking news. My past work includes coverage of Simone Biles’ road to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the death of a fan at Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” and the Vermont shooting of three Palestinian students. You can often find me live-blogging major events in pop culture like the Oscars, the Grammys and the Super Bowl.

Rebecca Cohen

contributed

.

Simone Biles qualifies for her third Olympics as Hezly Rivera snags fifth spot on the team (2024)

FAQs

Simone Biles qualifies for her third Olympics as Hezly Rivera snags fifth spot on the team? ›

Simone Biles qualifies for her third Olympics as Hezly Rivera snags fifth spot on the team. With four returning Tokyo Olympians, it is the oldest and most decorated U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team in history. MINNEAPOLIS — Simone Biles has officially punched her ticket to a third Olympic Games.

Did Simone Biles qualify for the Olympics? ›

Simone Biles made her anticipated return to the Summer Olympics on Sunday, dominating a gymnastics qualifying session that ended with Team USA in the lead.

Is Simone Biles the oldest gymnast to compete in the Olympics? ›

Oldest U.S. Olympians in women's gymnastics history

Biles is the oldest American gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since 1952, but is the fifth-oldest American gymnast to ever compete in the Olympics, behind Hoesly, Dorothy Dalton, Meta Elste-Neumann and Marian Barone.

How many Olympics has Simone Biles been in? ›

After entering competition this weekend, Biles officially debuted in her third Olympics, first appearing in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games at the age of 19. Biles took the world by storm in Brazil in her Olympics debut, capturing four gold medals among five total in an historic showing.

What event did Simone Biles pull out of? ›

It's so big, it's the Olympic Games. At the end of the day, we don't want to be carried out of there on a stretcher." In the ensuing days, Biles withdrew from the uneven bars, vault and floor exercise competitions. She had won the gold medal in the vault and floor in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Will Simone Biles compete in 2024? ›

Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles will anchor three of the four apparatus Tuesday (30 July) as Team USA seeks to reclaim the women's team gold medal at Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Which female gymnast dropped out of the Olympics in 2024? ›

Biles dropped out of the competition after getting the "twisties" during her vault. Skinner retired from gymnastics after Tokyo and did not take part in the Olympic trials for the 2024 games.

How high can Simone Biles jump? ›

How high can Simone Biles jump? At the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, the top of Biles' head got as high as 12 feet above the surface on one of the jumps during her floor exercise routine, NBC Sports calculated.

Who is Simone Biles' biggest competition? ›

Brazil's Rebeca Andrade will go head-to-head against Simone Biles in the all-around gymnastics finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics August 1. When Simone Biles competes for gold, she'll have some fierce competition in Rebeca Andrade.

What level was Simone Biles at age 14? ›

2011–12: Junior elite

Biles began her elite gymnastics career at age 14 on July 1, 2011, at the 2011 American Classic in Houston. She placed third all-around, first on vault and balance beam, fourth on floor exercise, and eighth on uneven bars.

How rich is Simone Biles? ›

What is Simone Biles's net worth? According to Celebritynetworth.com, Biles estimated net worth is $16 million. The website estimates Biles has earned an estimated $20 million through endorsements throughout her career.

Who is the best gymnast of all time? ›

World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

The years listed for each gymnast only include World Championships where they won medals. American gymnast Simone Biles holds the record for the most World Championship medals (30), as well as the most gold medals (23) in World Championship history for an athlete of either sex.

What's Simone Biles' best event? ›

Biles' best event is either floor exercise or vault, though her world championship history will tell you the floor is where she's always excelled the most. She has six floor exercise gold medals at the world championships and two in vault.

Is Simone Biles married? ›

Jonathan Owens, Simone Biles' husband, to cheer wife on in team, all-around finals at Paris 2024.

What event did Simone Biles do? ›

Biographical Information. Simone Biles is one of the most celebrated athletes of all time and the most decorated U.S. gymnast in history. At the Olympic Games Rio 2016, she earned an unprecedented four gold medals in the floor exercise, vault, all-around and team segments.

How old was Simone Biles in her first Olympics? ›

PARIS — Simone Biles would like to issue a formal apology. Aly Raisman, who competed in her second Olympics at 22 years old in 2016 when Biles was a 19-year-old Olympic rookie, was not a grandma.

Why didn t Simone Biles participate in the Olympics? ›

Biles, the sports' most dominant athlete, withdrew from several events in Tokyo three years ago due to mental health concerns and a condition known as the twisties. Biles has made a significant comeback since.

Is 15 the highest score in gymnastics? ›

What's a perfect score in gymnastics? Because of the varying difficulty scores, there isn't exactly one "perfect" score that can be achieved. A score under the current system typically lands between 12 and 15.

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