After a slate of injuries plagued top contenders Jones, DiCello and Blakely leading into Olympic trials, four of the five spots on the women’s team roster appear to be locked in — leaving several once-wild-card gymnasts vying for just one place on the official Paris 2024 squad.
But the two traveling alternate slots could be just as, if not more, consequential for Team USA.
Less than a month ago, Blakely and DiCello were standing next to Biles on the national championships podium. In the past week, both ruptured their Achilles tendons, dashing their Paris dreams.
In gymnastics, anything can happen.
Nothing highlights that more than when Biles withdrew from all but one event final at the Tokyo Olympics. MyKayla Skinner and Jade Carey sprang into action, each winning individual event medals on vault and floor, respectively.
Though Skinner and Carey did not compete in the team final, if a gymnast were injured in the lead-up to Paris before the start of competition, one of the traveling alternates could be America’s only hope.
As Hezly Rivera, Tiana Sumanasekera, Leanne Wong, Kaliya Lincoln and Joscelyn Roberson battle it out for the final official spot, the selection committee may consider the alternate selections as an equally consequential piece of the team puzzle.
On the men’s side, a computer program used math to determine the five-man team that would compete in Paris, disappointing some fans when Shane Wiskus was left off the team after he placed third with one of the best meets of his life.
But while a computer determined the roster, humans on the selection committee hand-selected Wiskus and Khoi Young as alternates, knowing they would be strong competitors should either have to step in.