Next week Minneapolis will transform into “Gymnastics City USA” as the host of the United States Olympic trials in women’s and men’s artistic gymnastics; the national championships in rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline, tumbling and acrobatic gymnastics; the USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show; and USA Gymnastics for All Gymfest.
Here’s what you need to know about the gymnastics events coming June 21-30.
That’s a lot of gymnastics. What are the different disciplines?
Athletes in three Olympic sports will be competing in Minneapolis. There’s artistic gymnastics. Think Simone Biles and Mary Lou Retton. There’s rhythmic gymnastics, where athletes perform choreographed routines to music using hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. And there’s trampoline, an Olympic event since 2000 in which gymnasts perform flips and twists 30 feet in the air.
Acrobatic gymnastics will also be on display. Think Cirque du Soleil. Pairs or groups perform choreographed to music that involve dance, synchronized tumbling, and partner skills like pyramids and holds.
In tumbling, gymnasts execute acrobatic maneuvers on an elevated runway, while the double-mini competition combines trampoline and tumbling with a gymnast running up to a small trampoline, performing a skill in the air and dismounting on a mat.
What’s the schedule?
June 21-26: Elite and development-level trampoline and tumbling, rhythmic gymnastics and acrobatics, Convention Center
June 26-30: USA Gymnastics for All GymFest, Convention Center. Known as group gymnastics, this event also includes a division for gymnasts with disabilities.
June 27 and 29: U.S. Olympic trials, men’s artistic gymnastics, Target Center
June 28 and 30: U.S. Olympic trials, women’s artistic gymnastics, Target Center
June 28-30: USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show, Convention Center. Attendees can watch educational presentations and demonstrations and visit vendor booths.
Will we get to see Simone Biles and Suni Lee?
Yes! Biles, 27, is an overwhelming favorite to qualify for her third Olympic team after returning to the sport last August, two years removed from withdrawing from several events at the Tokyo Games with a case of the “twisties,” a sudden inability to spin. The four-time Olympic gold medalist and 23-time world champion won the U.S. Championships two weeks ago by a wide margin.
Lee, 21, of St. Paul is the reigning Olympic all-around champion, but she has not competed internationally since Tokyo. After two spectacular seasons at Auburn, she was found to have a kidney disease that limited her ability to train. She hadn’t competed in the all-around in more than a year before the U.S. Championships, but she was fourth, including a second-place finish on the balance beam.
Who else is going to be here?
Sixteen women and 20 men qualified for the Olympic trials.
Shilese Jones, an all-around medalist in the last two world championships, has been the top American woman behind Biles this season, but she missed the U.S. championships with a shoulder injury. She plans to compete at trials. With Jones out, Skye Blakely finished second at the U.S. Championships, followed by Kayla DiCello. Tokyo Olympians Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles also will be at trials.
The men’s group is led by Brody Malone, a Tokyo Olympian who won his third U.S. all-around championship last month despite suffering a knee injury in March 2023 that required three surgeries. Shane Wiskus, a former Gopher from Spring Lake Park, and Yul Moldauer are back at trials after being part of the team in Tokyo. Other contenders are Frederick Richard, a rising Michigan junior who was second at nationals and third in the all-around at the world championships in October; and two Stanford stars: Khoi Young and Asher Hong.
So Olympic teams will be announced in Minneapolis?
Indeed. The five men who will represent the U.S. in artistic gymnastics in Paris will be named at the end of the session June 29, while the five women will be announced after the competition ends June 30. Alternates also will be chosen for each team.
The woman and man who will represent the U.S. in trampoline will be announced June 26.
The U.S. secured only one spot in rhythmic gymnastics in Paris, and Evita Griskenas, a 23-year-old from Orland Park, Ill., already has earned that berth.
How will the Olympic teams be chosen?
The Olympic trials in artistic gymnastics will consist of two days of competition for women and men. Each day, gymnasts will do one rotation of apparatus (vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise for women; floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar for men).
The highest-scoring woman after two days of competition automatically will qualify for the Olympic team. A committee will choose the other four, factoring results from international competitions and four other American events, including the U.S. championships, over the past year. The committee also will weigh potential for team, all-around and individual event medals.
In the men’s event, the all-around winner at trials automatically qualifies for the Olympics if he is among the top three on three of the six apparatus. A committee selects the other four, evaluating the highest scoring potential in the team event and individual medals and looking in particular at performances at the U.S. championships last month and the trials.
Are tickets still available?
Yes. All-session tickets for all four days of the Olympic trials remain in the second tier of Target Center, starting at $450. Single-session tickets are available on the secondary market.
All-session tickets for the competitions at the Convention Center are $120. Day passes range from $37 to $57.
An all-session ticket for GymFest is $60, with day passes available for $15-$20.
Onsite registration for the USA Gymnastics Trade Show costs $300 for members and $400 for nonmembers.
How do I watch on TV?
June 27 (Men’s Day 1): USA Network, Peacock 5-8 p.m.
June 28 (Women’s Day 1): Peacock 6:30-7 p.m.; NBC, Peacock 7-9 p.m.
June 29 (Men’s Day 2): NBC, Peacock 2-5 p.m.
June 30 (Women’s Day 2): NBC, Peacock 7:30-10 p.m.
