It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for all year (well, maybe a whole year since it was initially postponed because of the pandemic): The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games! Opening Ceremony kicked off *checks calendar* this morning, which means it’s time to (a) be unapologetically patriotic, (b) support Team USA’s women’s gymnastics team, and of course, (c) get mad at commentator Tim Daggett for being harsh on our girls!
Speaking of our girls—the amazing talented and agile ladies who will undoubtedly bring us VICTORY —it’s about time we get acquainted with them before they hit the mat and bring home gold, silver, and bronze medals back to the states!
Simone Biles
Age: 22
Hometown: Spring, Texas
Olympic Medals: 5 — 4 gold, 1 bronze (2016 Rio Olympics)
At this point, you know who Simone Biles is—she’s the most decorated gymnast of all time and is nicknamed the “GOAT” as a result. She’s a master at all the apparatuses (though she hates the uneven bars, LOL), and is pretty much a cinch to win big at this year’s Olympic Games. Expect to see Simone pull out her Yurchenko double pike vault, a move that made her the first women EVER to successfully perform it in a major competition. The girls are quaking!
Sunisa Lee
Age: 18
Hometown: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Olympic Medals: None (yet!), 2 gold medals in uneven bars and balance beam, 1 silver medal in the all around during the 2021 Olympic Trials
Sunisa might only be 18, but she’s a massive force to be reckoned with—not only has she made history as the first Hmong American athlete at the Olympics, but she also has the hardest bars routine in the world right now. I dare you to watch and not be amazed, especially around the 0:50 mark:
Jordan Chiles
Age: 20
Hometown: Tualatin, Oregon
Olympic Medals: None (yet!), 2 bronze medals on floor and in all around, 1 silver for uneven bars at the 2021 Olympic Trials
You might know Jordan as the girl on the women’s gymnastics team who constantly has her eyeshadow on fleek OR as the girl on the women’s gymnastics team who’s besties with Simone Biles (and yes, their last names rhyme)! Here’s proof of both in one pic:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQttQyIp5lv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
A post shared by Jordan Chiles (@jordanchiles)
Despite making the women’s Olympics gymnastics team, there was a time where Jordan thought about giving up the sport to go to college, but Simone suggested she move to Texas to train at her gym to get better—now she’s at the Olympic Games! Peep her solid AF vault:
Grace McCallum
Age: 18
Hometown: Cambridge, Minnesota
Olympic Medals: None (yet!), placed fourth on floor and the all around at the 2021 Olympic Trials
And we’ve got another Minnesota native on the team! Grace has a reputation for being a consistent and resilient gymnast—she’s been a five-time member of the United States women’s national gymnastics team since 2018, and was the 2018 and World team champion. Probably because she hits amazing beam routines like this one:
MyKayla Skinner
Age: 24
Hometown: Gilbert, Arizona
Olympic Medals: None (yet!), 1 silver medal for vault at the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Trials
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have limited their gymnastics team to only four women that can compete in all four events (beam, uneven bars, vault, or floor exercise/FX). After finishing in fifth behind Grace McCallum in the Olympic Trials, MyKayla was called back for an individual spot in the Games, where she’ll be competing as a specialist in either floor or vault, but not the other two exercises.
Jade Carey
Age: 22
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Olympic Medals: None (yet!)
Like MyKayla, Jade is heading to the Olympics this year after earning an individual spot. Jade didn’t qualify for her spot on the team during the Olympic Trials, though—she actually secured her spot due to her stellar performance in the Apparatus World Cup Series over the past three years. Also like MyKayla, Jade’s expected to deliver a pretty solid vault or floor routine.
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