DiCello takes all-around title at USA Gymnastics Winter Cup
Kayla DiCello allowed herself to sit and chill after a better-than-expected start to her season. Olympic champion Sunisa Lee was a bit steamed at herself for literally missing the high bar she set — twice, in fact.
DiCello seized the accolades projected for some of her higher-profile counterparts by winning the uneven bars and floor exercise on the way to the all-around title at the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup on Saturday in Louisville, Ky. with an overall score of 56.850. Skye Blakely scored 54.650 for silver while WOGA teammate Hezly Rivera took the bronze with 54.000.
Former NCAA all-around champion Trinity Thomas was fourth at 53.250.
DiCello, a 2023 NCAA team silver medalist at Florida along with Thomas, scored 14.300 on the bars and 14.050 in the floor exercise.
The Winter Cup was the first major American gymnastics competition for the 2024 season. It was expected to mark the return of 2012 Olympic champion Gabby Douglas after eight years away, but she withdrew Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Lee tried to keep things in perspective after falling twice on the bars — her specialty — on a day she hoped would lay the path toward getting a skill named for her.
Jump-starting a quest for an Olympic return at this summer's Paris Games was also on the table for the 2020 all-around champion, especially after battling a kidney-related health issue that halted her college career at Auburn. Both goals remain, but Lee has work ahead.
“It's good that it happened here rather than somewhere else,” Lee said. “It's just annoying because that was the first one that I missed. So, that's what makes it so bad. But it's fine. I have time and I know that I can do it and I can hit it every single time . ... We just have to work on that.” White Abarrio never threatened the leaders.
Senor Buscador, trained by Todd Fincher, ran second in his previous start to National Treasure in the Pegasus World Cup in Florida, and went off at 13-1 odds Saturday. again after Carlos Alcaraz, Stan Wawrinka and Nicolás Jarry were all earlier beaten or retired injured.
In the earlier semifinal, fifth-seeded Báez topped his Argentine compatriot Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-0 to advance to his fifth and biggest tour-level final. seven GS races this season, adding to the three-event streak with which he closed out last season.
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