FORT WORTH — After Skye Blakely wakes up before an important competition, she opens the Notes app on her phone, thinks through each event and jots down some goals.
Blakely has been part of the past two gold medal-winning U.S. teams at the world championships, so it’s not as though she only recently surged into Olympic contention. But this past weekend’s national championships was undeniably a breakthrough for the 19-year-old.
Blakely hit her routines on all eight events — something that none of her peers with Olympic or world championships experience accomplished — and she made a massive statement with her new vault, which could be a difference-maker later this month at the Olympic trials.
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She landed a vault known as a Cheng, which features a half-turn as the gymnast dives onto the table and then a front layout with 1½ twists. It’s one of the hardest vaults female gymnasts perform and one past Olympic gold medalists on the apparatus, Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, have perfected.
On the first night of nationals, Blakely’s debut Cheng was fantastic. She flew through the air with solid technique, landed with her chest nearly upright and steadied herself with just a small hop. She earned a huge 15.000 score for the effort, a mark that only Biles could top. (Biles received a 15.800 for her powerful Yurchenko double pike and then a 15.000 when she fell on the same vault two days later.) No other gymnast came closer than Jade Carey, who scored a 14.500 and a 14.600.
Blakely’s landing wasn’t as strong Sunday, when she tallied a 14.400, but the previous performance was enough to prove her potential. If that large gap between Blakely and the next-best vaulter remains, she will be a favorite to make the Olympic team.
In the past, Blakely’s ability on bars and beam propelled her to the world championships. She finished third on both at nationals, so those events continue to boost her résumé. It’s unclear how much the U.S. selection committee will consider a gymnast’s performance at major competitions, but Blakely has struggled on beam multiple times at worlds. That is in part why it was also important for her to stand out on other apparatuses, and this vault would complement the strengths of other gymnasts who seem poised to make the team.
Five women will compete for the United States in Paris, but just three perform on each apparatus in the team final. Chellsie Memmel, the technical lead of the women’s high performance team, said the team competition is the country’s “first priority.” Building the highest-scoring team is a puzzle, and it isn’t as simple as naming the top five all-around finishers to the Olympic roster.
Biles is a lock. Shilese Jones, a two-time all-around medalist at worlds, withdrew from the national championships because of a shoulder injury, but as long as she is healthy at the trials, she also will be nearly guaranteed a trip to Paris. Both Biles and Jones can contribute on each apparatus. Then there’s Sunisa Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, who is excellent on bars and beam. The 14.900 she earned on beam Sunday is the best any American has notched on that apparatus this year. Even with a mishap on vault, Lee finished fourth in the all-around at nationals, bolstering her status as a front-runner to make the team.
But Lee’s lower scores on vault and floor would leave the Americans with voids to fill. And that’s how Blakely’s high vault score becomes particularly valuable. Blakely’s season high on floor is a 13.750, so the U.S. team also would benefit from a gymnast who’s strong on that apparatus.
Kayla DiCello, an alternate for the Tokyo Olympics, had the second-best combined score on floor over two days at nationals. She averaged a 13.900, a major improvement from the U.S. Classic, where she fell on a tumbling pass. DiCello wasn’t perfect on the other apparatuses Sunday night; she fell on bars and had a big wobble on beam. But she still finished third in the all-around, which could make her the preferred option.
Behind DiCello, 16-year-old Tiana Sumanasekera averaged a 13.750 on floor but doesn’t have as high of a ceiling on other apparatuses. Jade Carey is the reigning Olympic champion on floor, but she notched a 13.600 and a 13.700 for her hit routines at nationals. Carey also performs the difficult Cheng vault, averaging a 14.550 across the two days of competition, but Blakely’s potential contribution on that event could make Carey’s vaulting edge over DiCello less of a factor.
Joscelyn Roberson (14.000 on Sunday) and Jordan Chiles (14.100) are other gymnasts who could boost the team on floor. Kaliya Lincoln is a wild card. She scored a 14.000 on floor at the U.S. Classic but withdrew from nationals before competing in the event. Lincoln will be at the trials, but her hopes of making the Olympic team depend heavily on whether the U.S. selection committee is willing to choose an athlete based almost entirely on a single apparatus.
When considering each gymnast’s best scores from meets considered “tryout events” in the Olympic team selection procedures, the highest-scoring team includes Biles, Jones, Lee, Blakely and Lincoln. However, DiCello and Chiles would provide the added benefit of serving as capable backup options on all of the other apparatuses.
Performances at the trials almost certainly will carry more weight than any other competition this season. If Blakely or Lee struggles in Minneapolis later this month, the puzzle pieces of the Olympic team could shift. But for now, both gymnasts seemingly are strong contenders because of their performance in Fort Worth, which leaves everyone else battling for the fifth and final spot.
