Olympic Gymnastics Trials: How to Watch this Weekend
Shane Wiskus, 22 and a two-time N.C.A.A. silver medalist in the all-around, made a huge comeback on Day 1 of the trials after a disappointing performance at nationals, where he fell three times during his high bar routine. Going into the final day of the men’s trials on Saturday, he is second in the all-around, proving his resilience.
Yul Moldauer has twice helped the U.S. men’s team finish fourth at the world championships and is the current national champion in parallel bars. Moldauer, 24, finished second in the all-around at nationals.
Each team gets up to five alternates. Why so many?
With the coronavirus pandemic a lingering issue, U.S.A. Gymnastics wants to make sure it has enough athletes to compete in case athletes test positive or are sidelined by contact tracing protocols. These athletes can step in if anyone on the main team is injured or ill.
What can we anticipate, or not, from Biles?
Expect Biles to perform her breathtaking Yurchenko double pike vault for just the second time in competition. The first time she landed the move was in May at the U.S. Classic, and videos of it went viral. No other woman has done the vault — which has two full flips in the pike position — and it’s unlikely that anyone else even tries it in training because it’s so difficult and dangerous. The move will be named after Biles if she lands it at the Olympics, and her coach, Cecile Landi, said Biles would perform it just once at the women’s trials. It remains uncertain whether that will be on Day 1 or Day 2.
At recent competitions, Biles has been wearing specially designed leotards with a rhinestone goat somewhere on each one. The center of her back. Above her right hip. High on her right shoulder. It has become the Where’s Waldo of gymnastics, and it represents G.O.A.T., or greatest of all time. Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history with 25 world championship medals and five Olympic medals, said she had started wearing the goat as a retort to her critics on social media. But the goat won’t be at the trials. Biles will be wearing the U.S. national team’s leotard, Landi said, and no goats, or any other specialized embellishments, will be allowed on it.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/sports/olympics/gymnastics-trials-olympics.html