Even on one of her worst days Simone is still better than everyone else. Not that anyone ever thought Simone’s spot on the world team was in jeopardy. It’s been less than a month from the National Championships and we’ve just wrapped up the world team trials where Simone clinched the automatic spot–returning her to Antwerp, Belgium where she won her first World Championship all-around title 10 years ago. While Simone will be chasing history she’ll have a new cast around her cheering her on and trying to make their own mark. Aside from Simone, the 2023 U.S. Worlds Team includes: Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely, Leanne Wong, Joscelyn Roberson, and Kayla DiCello as alternate. Making the Pan Ams team are: Jordan Chiles, Kayla DiCello, Kaliya Lincoln, Zoe Miller, Tiana Sumanasekera with Individual Qualifier: Katelyn Jong. The non-traveling alternates are: Alicia Zhou, Eveylynn Lowe and Nola Matthews. For that first group, this week is when the rubber hits the road. And we’re in Antwerp to see how the top of our Power Ranking’s list compares to the rest of the world.
Here’s how things have shaken out since the last major competition:
Previous Ranking: September 5, 2023
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Previous Ranking: 1
Simone had one of her worst days ever and still won the all-around title at trials in a quiet gym. There will be a crowd in Antwerp, and Simone feeds on that energy better than anyone.
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Previous Ranking: 2
Shilese continues to demonstrate herself to be the second best all-around in the country and was a foot (brush/hit?) away from getting the automatic spot at trials.
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Previous Ranking: 3
Skye has a remarkable track record of fantastic beam scores this year. She’s an amazing all-around, but might find herself relegated to a specialist role on bars and beam at Worlds.
oh, just Skye doing Skye things 🤩
It’s a 14.500 for @skyeblakely_ at the Women’s Selection Camp Competition! pic.twitter.com/RqfCSjzT5V
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) September 20, 2023
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Previous Ranking: 4
One of the big questions for the U.S. team isn’t if they can win another gold medal in Antwerp? It’s who on the team will get a shot at the all-around and who might fall victim to the two-per country rule? With another stellar performance at camp Leanne has made a strong case that she should get a shot to perform all four events.
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Previous Ranking: 7
One of the most exciting storylines the past few months was the competition Josc faced in a battle for a roster spot. We talked about a showdown with Jade, and then with Kaliya… Josc continues to get better and locked her spot. We’re excited to see her in a global showdown.
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Previous Ranking: 5
If you’re a regular listener to the show you’ll know we’ve been on the Roberson train for a long time. With that said, both Jessica and Spencer would have put Kaliya on the Worlds team because her floor score would provide a larger boost to the overall team score. We’re excited to see what she does at Pan Ams
A 13.800 on Beam and now a 13.850 on Floor for @KaliyaLincoln, she’s on 🔥 at the Women’s Selection Camp Competition!
Watch Live! ➡️ https://t.co/5NqwFJZNgz pic.twitter.com/82BzMpaNR4
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) September 20, 2023
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Previous Ranking: 13
Since that rough routine on the first day of nationals, Zoe has hit three strong bars sets and would have been on the highest-scoring team from camp alone. She is a favorite for bars gold at Pan Am Games.
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Previous Ranking: 11
After nationals we thought Kayla was out of contention. She had three falls across nationals and trials and doesn’t have a D buffer like Simone to make that up. However, she showed enough, kept it together and claimed the alternate spot. She’s also on the Pan Ams team so she has a busy schedule ahead of her.
13.950! A beautiful beam routine from @kayladicello during Day Two of the Selection Camp Competition!
Live Scores ➡️ https://t.co/28inybdS2G pic.twitter.com/Vav2ESDqO7
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) September 20, 2023
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Previous Ranking: 10
Jade Carey needed to make a statement and she earns major respect for not playing it safe. Jade went for all the insane difficulty on floor at camp. Unfortunately, it didn’t all pan out. Jade’s showed she’s not going anywhere; quietly dropping a 14.800 vault on day two. Now she’s off to make that Swiss cheddar at the Swiss Cup.
Just another day in the office for @jadeacarey on Vault ✅
Watch Live! ➡️ https://t.co/5NqwFJZNgz pic.twitter.com/FadNuL5kWB
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) September 20, 2023
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Previous Ranking: 8
Like Simone, we believe Jordan is a performer who comes alive in front of a crowd. At day one there was no crowd and we got more falls. Pan Ams will give us a better look to show that summer was a blip rather than foreshadowing 2024.
Last Week to Watch the Replay
Balance Beam redemption = complete@ChilesJordan scores a 13.100 during the Women’s Selection Camp Competition! pic.twitter.com/nryFhinMvG
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) September 20, 2023
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Previous Ranking: 11
The Pan Am queen heads back to Pan Am Games. Tiana has 9 golds and 2 silvers at various Pan Am competitions within the last two years. She should start consulting with Simone on where to stash all those medals.
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Previous Ranking: 6
She’s still Suni. When her body allows her to do gymnasts like she did just a few weeks ago, it’s still some of the best in the world.
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Previous Ranking: 15
Nola Didn’t have the camp she was probably hoping for, but it was good enough to earn an alternate spot for Pan Ams. And when she’s on… her bars you guys.
2
Previous Ranking: 16
The people’s champion for the Pan Am team selection. Someone should make an NFT gif (those are still a thing, right?) of her exquisite form on bars and beam at camp.
3
Previous Ranking: 18
Madray has an intensity that is mesmerizing to watch when she’s on. During the first day at trials she wasn’t, but she came back the second day with a big 13.750 beam to offer everyone a reminder of what she’s capable of.
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Previous Ranking: 20
We discussed whether she should have competed at all during nationals so soon after surgery. A few more weeks passed and this former world team member put up scores on all four events to keep her name in the all-around conversation.
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Previous Ranking: N/A
For being the least recognizable name, the least heralded gymnast at camp, Eveylnne’s routines held up well. She outscored people who have made major teams before. That’s something to pay attention to.
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Previous Ranking: 12
Stupid slippery vault. An injury on vault took her out of camp. But she was 6th AA at nationals and may still have a shot at Pan Am Games because she is prequalified
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Previous Ranking: 14
We thought she might find some magic again after surprising us with a top-10 result from nationals. It wasn’t to be.
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Previous Ranking: N/A
We’ve talked a lot about the alternate spot for worlds but our under-the-radar surprise is that Addison was passed up for Pan Am alternate in favor of Nola, who finished lower than her in the AA, which the women’s program usually leans on for selection.
Honorable Mentions: Charlotte Booth, Myli Lew, Michelle Pineda, Ashlee Sullivan
Power Ranking was composed with input from Jessica O’Beirne, Spencer Barnes, and Steve Cooper
Can we please get a new picture of Nola?