Minneapolis will host the U.S. Olympic trials for artistic gymnastics for the first time June 27-30. At the end of four days of competition at Target Center, the five women and five men who will represent the U.S. at one of the marquee events at the Paris Olympics will be named.
We asked some of the biggest gymnastics fans at the Star Tribune what they are most looking forward to next week.
No. 1 on everyone’s list: Simone Biles. If you ever get a chance to see the GOAT, you take it.
Here’s what else we can’t wait to see at Target Center:
Suni Lee’s homecoming
In the last year, Suni Lee battled a kidney disease that cut short her collegiate career and even had her wondering about her future. “Just thinking about not being able to do gymnastics was very emotional,” she said. But with her illness in remission, Lee is back in action, is “on the right track” and could soon earn a return ticket to the Olympics. And that the Minnesota and Hmong icon could do it in front of her family, friends and a hometown crowd will be nothing short of magical to see. — NANCY YANG, senior editor for audience engagement
Who will make the team?
Even beyond seeing some incredible feats of athleticism, these few days will tell us who will represent the U.S. heading to Paris in a month. More than most years in recent memory, there is an incredible number of solid contenders. How will they narrow down to only five on each side? Between several Olympians from Tokyo returning for contention, former alternates and college standouts coming back for another swing (heh), plus a handful of promising up-and-comers, I’ll be looking to see who performs under this kind of pressure and who cracks. And, above all, who gets anointed for Team USA. — C.J. SINNER, director of graphics & data visuals
Shane Wiskus back in Minnesota
The last time Spring Park, Minn., native and U alum Shane Wiskus competed in Minnesota was the 2021 NCAA championship at Maturi Pavilion, where he won two individual event titles and had three second-place finishes. It was the last meet of both his collegiate career and the Gophers men’s gymnastics team, which was cut after the season ended. Wiskus has hinted at retirement, and this could be his last competition in his home state. Regardless, his homecoming and gymnastics are worth the watch as he aims to return to the Games. — JOCELYN HUANG, multiplatform editor
College athletes abound
Pursuing careers at the elite level and in college simultaneously isn’t uncommon in men’s gymnastics, and making an Olympics bid after competing for a college women’s team isn’t a new concept. But former and current college gymnasts make up almost a third of the women’s field for these trials, an impressive proportion. Lee (Auburn), Jordan Chiles (UCLA) and Jade Carey (Oregon State) are back, as are Florida teammates and Tokyo alternates Leanne Wong and Kayla DiCello. Carey and Wong even competed this past NCAA season. It’s a product of good, from NIL rulings to better pacing across the sport, and it’ll hopefully draw even more fans to college gymnastics. — JOCELYN HUANG, multiplatform editor
High flying, adored
I have vivid memories of watching American Trent Dimas win the gold medal in the horizontal bar at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. My sister and I were holed up in a hotel room on a family vacation in Louisiana, refusing to go outside and do touristy things because the Olympics were on TV. I still watch Dimas’ routine on YouTube every now and then. The high bar remains my favorite gymnastics event to watch, and the feats these competitors can achieve in the air have become more thrilling in the past 32 years. And the fact that horizontal bar is the last event in the Olympic rotation order adds to the drama. — NAILA-JEAN MEYERS, senior assistant sports editor
