Three University Of Utah Gymnasts Going To Tokyo Olympics
Jun 28, 2021, 7:36 AM | Updated: 12:42 pm
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — Three gymnasts from the University of Utah are heading to the Tokyo Olympics after the U.S. Olympic Trials wrapped up on Sunday.
Incoming freshman Grace McCallum was named to the four-person U.S. women’s gymnastics team along with Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee and Jordan Chiles.
MyKayla Skinner placed second on vault at the trials and seventh overall on floor, earning the “plus-1” specialist spot for the Tokyo Games.
WATCH: @mykaylaskinner talk about her journey from being hospitalized with COVID-19 to the #TokyoOlympics on @TODAYshow #TokyoOlympics #GoUtes @UtahGymnastics#KSLOlympicshttps://t.co/fKXFeO0jtP
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 28, 2021
McCallum finished fourth overall in the all-around with a score of 112.564 while Skinner finished in fifth with a score of 112.264.
Incoming freshman Kara Eaker placed seventh with a score of 111.097 and will serve as an alternate.
The Associated Press said the selection committee opted to take the top four finishers at trials even though national team coordinator Tom Forster admitted a team with Skinner on it instead of McCallum could potentially put up a marginally higher score due to Skinner’s world-class vaulting.
Memories that will last forever. 💫
Congratulations to the women who have earned a spot on @TeamUSA for the Tokyo Olympic Games!
🇺🇸 Simone Biles
🇺🇸 Jordan Chiles
🇺🇸 Suni Lee
🇺🇸 Grace McCallum🇺🇸 Jade Carey
🇺🇸 MyKayla Skinner pic.twitter.com/lTtbsNPQxf— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) June 28, 2021
However, the Americans are heavy favorites to win a third-consecutive gold medal, and the committee decided to stay with the same process of taking the top four scores.
“We’re so fortunate that our athletes are so strong that I don’t think it’s going to come down to tenths of a point in Tokyo,” Forster said. “It doesn’t appear to be … so as a committee, we just didn’t feel it was worth changing the integrity of the process simply for a couple of tenths.”
Women’s Gymnastics Schedule For Tokyo
- July 25 – Qualification
- July 27 – Team final
- July 29 – All-around final
- Aug. 1 – Vault & uneven bars final
- Aug. 2 – Floor exercise final
- Aug. 3 – Balance beam final