US women’s gymnastics lineup
When you have Simone Biles, there’s little drama to your lineup.
The reigning Olympic champion and greatest gymnast of all time, is going last on every event but uneven bars in qualifying Sunday. Biles is going second-to-last on uneven bars, where Sunisa Lee will anchor the Americans with one of, if not the most, difficult routines being done.
Teams can drop their lowest score in qualifying. While strategies differ for each team, most will put up their strongest and most consistent gymnast last to ensure there’s a big score still to come if someone falters.
And Biles will definitely put up big scores. In addition to being favored to be the first woman in more than 50 years to repeat as all-around champion, she’s expected to win gold on vault, floor exercise and balance beam.
The U.S. women have won the team title at every major international competition dating back to the 2011 world championships, and that streak is unlikely to end in Tokyo. The top eight teams in qualifying advance to Tuesday night’s team finals.
Here’s the U.S. lineup, in the order they will compete:
h Floor: Grace Mccallum; Lee; Jordan Chiles; Biles h Vault: Lee; Mccallum; Chiles; Biles h Uneven bars: Mccallum; Chiles; Biles; Lee
h Balance beam: Mccallum; Chiles; Lee; Biles
In addition to the four-woman team, Mykayla Skinner and Jade Carey will compete as individuals. Their scores won’t count toward the team total, but they can qualify for event finals.