The team is heavily favored to win gold — especially in Russia, a gymnastics powerhouse that is still banned from international competition because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine — and the American women are also poised to collect an impressive medal haul from individual events.
Biles made several big mistakes during Tuesday’s all-around competition at the selection event held at a gym in Katy, Tex., but she performed better Wednesday with a mistake-free routine on bars and beam. He will arrive in Belgium looking for a sixth all-around gold at the world championships.
“I feel like everyone is nervous [Tuesday] — not just me,” Biles told reporters Wednesday. “And I don’t know why. But it’s too bad. So now it’s better. “
This group of US gymnasts – with four athletes with world championship medals, along with a newcomer in Roberson – will compete for a podium finish in each apparatus. (Kayla DiCello, an alternate at the Tokyo Olympics, will also travel as an alternate.) The gymnasts earned their spots on the team after a two-day selection event that featured an all-around competition Tuesday and an additional performances on Wednesday in both apparatuses (bars and beam for almost everyone).
Jones, who won the all-around silver at last year’s world championships, nearly moved ahead of Biles on the first day of the selection event, when the top all-around finisher earned an automatic spot on the team. But Jones mistimed the bars during her final routine and landed in second. She rebounded from an excellent showing on Wednesday for a 14.750, the highest bar score of the two-day event. Jones’ best all-around score this season, a 57.800 on the second day of nationals, was just short of Biles’ best (59.300) but still good enough to contend for an all-around medal.
Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey were not selected for the world championships team. Both experienced multiple falls during the trials, and the gymnasts with more consistent performances throughout the season and this week were selected instead. (The team for the Pan American Games was also selected on Wednesday, and Chiles earned the opportunity to compete there.)
In addition to Biles and Jones, two other gymnasts on the five-member squad have world championships experience: Blakely won gold with the team in 2022; Wong, an alternate at the Tokyo Olympics, was also part of the US team last year, and she has two individual medals (silver in all-around and bronze on floor) from the 2021 world championships.
Blakely fell on bars Wednesday, but she entered the day as a near lock for the team because of her recent performances. Blakely has consistently scored at least 14.000 on vault, bars and beam — enough to be an asset to the team score on each apparatus — and she will advance to the worlds finals on bars and beam. Even with a low floor score during Tuesday’s all-around competition, Blakely posted a 55.000 — not far behind the scores of Biles (55.700) and Jones (55.300).
Wong, a Florida junior who continues to train with her college coaches during the elite season, built on her strong showing at nationals by hitting all of her routines during the trials. Wong gave the team a consistent option on every device.
In a team final, the United States will rely on three gymnasts per apparatus, so identifying the top three finishers in each is a common starting point for determining the group with the highest potential score. Wong does not fit those calculations. Other gymnasts — Zoe Miller with a solid score on bars or Kaliya Lincoln with an excellent floor routine — could have produced a bigger score increase than Wong’s. But Miller and Lincoln have little to offer in other devices, and Wong’s ability to contribute everywhere has value.
Roberson earned a spot on the team after a breakout season. The 17-year-old from Texas started training at the World Champions Center, the club owned by Biles’ family, a year ago, and she has improved tremendously since then. Roberson only placed 18th at nationals in 2022 but rose to seventh this year, then fourth in the all-around at the selection event.
Roberson did two different vaults — a requirement to win an apparatus medal — and she could earn a spot with Biles on the podium at the world championships. She also scored up to 14.150 on floor this season and has the potential to advance to the final.