Previewing NCAA Gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics

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With the Olympics finally getting underway in two days, it’s time to take a look at the 11 past, present and future NCAA gymnasts who will perform in Tokyo. Five are from the United States and two from Canada, while Great Britain, Jamaica, Peru and Singapore each have one. UCLA and Utah are both represented by three gymnasts, followed by Oregon State, Auburn, Alabama, Iowa State and Stanford with one. Six athletes are future NCAA gymnasts, two have already completed their collegiate career and three are currently in college. Let’s take a look at each of them.

Wondering when and where to watch these NCAA gymnasts in Tokyo? Check out our viewers guide.

Jade Carey

Country: United States of America
NCAA Team: Oregon State
Graduation Year: 2025
Best events: vault and floor
Journey to the Olympics: Carey obtained her individual spot at the Olympics after finishing first on vault it the apparatus world cup series. A level 10 gymnast until 2017, she burst into the elite scene that same year, winning two silver medals on vault and floor at the world championships. Two years later, she helped team USA win gold at worlds, and won another silver medal for herself on vault.
What to Expect in Tokyo: The U.S. is sending three gymnasts capable of two vaults to Tokyo: Carey, Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner. Given the two-per-country rule and Biles’ superior execution, Carey and Skinner will likely engage in a fierce battle for the second U.S. place in the final. Carey’s chances to make the final will depend on two factors. First, her health. She’s been battling a leg injury for much of 2021, which limited her difficulty, but she will need to perform her two most difficult vaults (Amanar and Cheng) to keep up with Skinner. Second, her execution—she will need to have good landings. She and Skinner compete the same two vaults, so execution will be key to separate the two athletes. Carey also announced that she plans to compete her triple-twisting double layout on floor in Tokyo to increase her chances of qualifying to the floor final. If she does, watch out for it. It would be the hardest pass ever competed in women’s gymnastics, and it would be named after Carey if she lands it successfully.
How She Will Do in College: Carey’s known for being a vault and floor specialist in elite, but in college she’s expected to be a strong contributor on all four pieces. In particular, her release moves between the bars are spectacular, to the delight of the Beavers who struggled on this event in 2021. Don’t be too surprised if Carey scores her first perfect 10.0 on bars.

Carey will compete in qualification in subdivision 3 on July 25 at 2:10 a.m. EST.

Jordan Chiles

Country: United States of America
NCAA Team: UCLA
Graduation Year: 2025
Best events: vault and floor
Journey to the Olympics: Chiles turned senior in 2017 but failed to be selected to a world championship team due to consistency issues. Since moving to World Champions Centre in 2019, where she trains alongside Biles, she has become a different gymnast: poised, consistent and reliable. In 2021 she finished in the top three in the all around at every meet she competed at, including at the Olympic Trials, making her a lock for the Olympic team.
What to Expect in Tokyo: Given her consistency, Chiles could be asked to compete on all four events in the team final, but she will certainly be a lock on vault and floor. Individually, she has the potential to qualify to both the all around and the floor finals, though the competition from her teammates will be intense.
How She Will Do in College: Chiles can become a star at UCLA and post perfect 10.0s on all four events. Her difficulty and execution will award her high scores, and her enthusiasm will help her fit right in with the team. We hope to see her perform her gorgeous double-twisting Yurchenko in the NCAA.

Chiles will compete in qualification in subdivision 3 on July 25 at 2:10 a.m. EST.

Danusia Francis

Country: Jamaica
NCAA Team: UCLA
Graduation Year: 2016
Best event: beam
Journey to the Olympics: Francis qualified to the Olympic Games at the 2019 world championships. Before then, she was an alternate to the 2012 British Olympic team and competed at three other world championships in 2011, 2015 and 2018.
What to Expect in Tokyo: Francis will try to finish among the top 24 in the all around in qualification in order to qualify to the final—it’s a long shot, but never say never. You don’t want to miss her beam routine and her unique dismount.
How She Did in College: Francis had an excellent career at UCLA, which included a perfect 10.0 and a national title on beam in 2016. Additionally, she had career highs of 9.900 and 9.950 on bars and floor, respectively. Her James Bond-inspired floor routine was a fan favorite.

Francis will compete in qualification in subdivision 3 on July 25 at 2:10 a.m. EST.

Sunisa Lee

Country: United States of America
NCAA Team: Auburn
Graduation Year: 2025
Best event: bars
Journey to the Olympics: Lee was a member of the 2019 world championship team where she won gold with the team, silver on floor and bronze on bars. She had a slow start to her 2021 campaign, but she peaked at the right time, finishing second in the all around at the Olympic Trials. There, she posted a huge 15.300 on bars on day one and even outscored Biles in the all around on day two.
What to Expect in Tokyo: Lee could win as many as five medals in Tokyo with the team, in the all around and on bars, beam and floor. Her teammates’ competition for all finals will be intense, but Lee’s execution could give her an edge. She’s a favorite to win a medal on bars.
How She Will Do in College: If Jeff Graba can manage Lee’s body and injuries as well as his twin brother Jess (Lee’s club coach), Lee could have an outstanding all around career in the NCAA. She will likely have an immediate impact on the bar, beam and floor lineups in particular. Some months ago, Lee revealed that she wishes to compete her Nabieva on bars at Auburn—she would be the first gymnast to perform that skill in college.

Lee will compete in qualification in subdivision 3 on July 25 at 2:10 a.m. EST.

Grace McCallum

Country: United States of America
NCAA Team: Utah
Graduation Year: 2025
Best event: all around
Journey to the Olympics: McCallum was a member of both the 2018 and 2019 gold medal-winning world championship teams. In early 2021 she suffered a hand injury that set back her preparation, but she came back strong and peaked at the Olympic Trials where she finished fourth in the all around, securing a spot on the main team.
What to Expect in Tokyo: McCallum competed at two world championships but never qualified to an event final—she will try to achieve that goal at the Olympics. At the end of the Olympic Trials, she said she wanted to upgrade her bar routine in time for Tokyo. If she does, this could be her chance at an Olympic final.
How She Will Do in College: McCallum doesn’t have a dominant apparatus, but she is strong on all four events. She has the potential to have an excellent career at Utah and to compete weekly in the all around.

McCallum will compete in qualification in subdivision 3 on July 25 at 2:10 a.m. EST.

Brooklyn Moors

Country: Canada
NCAA Team: UCLA
Graduation Year: 2025
Best event: floor
Journey to the Olympics: Moors competed at the world championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019. She qualified to the floor final every year, finishing fifth in 2019. She’s known for her expressive choreography.
What to Expect in Tokyo: Moors has the potential to qualify to both the all around and floor finals.
How She Will Do in College: It’s unclear how Moors will transition to the NCAA, but she has the potential to contribute ton all four events. We’re curious to find out how her choreography will translate into her college routine.

Moors will compete in qualification in subdivision 4 on July 25 at 4:05 a.m. EST.

Amelie Morgan

Country: Great Britain
NCAA Team: Utah
Graduation Year: 2026 (expected)
Best event: bars and beam
Journey to the Olympics: Morgan had a brilliant career as a junior, winning silver in the all around at both the Youth Olympics and the European championships in 2018. In 2021 she was a member of the British team at Euros where she won bronze on bars and was fourth on beam and in the all around.
What to Expect in Tokyo: Morgan will hope to qualify to the all around final, though the competition from the other three Brits—Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova and Alice Kinsella—will be fierce. If she hits a good beam set, she also has a chance at that final.
How She Will Do in College: Morgan was originally committed to California for the 2022 season but later decommitted and recently added Utah to her Instagram bio. Given that the signing period ends Aug. 1 and there hasn’t been any official announcement of her switch yet, we expect her to join the NCAA for the 2023 season. At Utah she will not solve the Utes’ weaknesses on vault and floor but will contribute with important scores on bars and beam. Her execution is very clean and could earn her a few 10.0s throughout her career.

Morgan will compete in qualification in subdivision 2 on July 24 at 10:25 p.m. EST.

Shallon Olsen

Country: Canada
NCAA Team: Alabama
Graduation Year: 2022
Best events: vault and floor
Journey to the Olympics: Olsen competed at the 2016 Olympics, as well as at three world championships (2017, 2018 and 2019). She qualified to the vault final at each of these competitions and won silver in 2018 behind Biles.
What to Expect in Tokyo: Olsen will make the vault final if she can land her two vaults well (Yurchenko double and Cheng) in qualification. It will be interesting to see her compete on bars after a three-year hiatus on this event in college.
How She Is Doing in College: A rising senior, Olsen’s had a very good career at Alabama so far. She boasts career highs of 9.925 on vault, 9.900 on beam and 9.950 on floor. As she will not have to balance out college and elite training next year, she will have time to focus a tad more on her execution—the extra polish could award her a perfect 10.0 on floor.

Olsen will compete in qualification in subdivision 4 on July 25 at 4:05 a.m. EST.

Ariana Orrego

Country: Peru
NCAA Team: Iowa State
Graduation Year: 2022
Best event: floor
Journey to the Olympics: Orrego qualified to the Tokyo Olympics at the 2019 world championships. It will be her second Games after competing in Rio in 2016 as well. She appeared at two other world championships in 2014 and 2015.
What to Expect in Tokyo: In a recent interview Orrego said that her main goal in Tokyo is to enjoy herself but that she would love to reach the all around final.
How She Is Doing in College: Orrego has competed on all four events throughout her career at Iowa State with fine results. She boasts career highs of 9.800 on vault and of 9.825 on floor.

Orrego will compete in qualification in subdivision 3 on July 25 at 2:10 a.m. EST.

MyKayla Skinner

Country: United States of America
NCAA Team: Utah
Graduation Year: 2019 (gymnastics) and 2022 (academic)
Best event: vault and floor
Journey to the Olympics: After being named an alternate to the 2016 U.S. Olympic team, Skinner joined the NCAA where she had a brilliant career as a Ute. After three years in college, she decided to defer her senior year and return to elite in a bid to make the 2020 Olympic team. After being the alternate to the 2019 world championship team, Skinner peaked at the 2021 Olympic Trials, exactly like in 2016, and was awarded one of the two individual spots on the U.S. squad. Her story is an inspiration for its resilience and perseverance.
What to Expect in Tokyo: As we wrote above in reference to Carey, she and Skinner will engage in a fierce competition in qualification to qualify for the vault final alongside Biles. Skinner has a slightly weaker execution than Carey in the air, so landings will be crucial. Skinner will also want to qualify to the floor final. It will be very hard, as all the other U.S. gymnasts have a chance of joining Biles on the event, but Skinner knows how to peak at the right time, so don’t count her out.
How She Did in College: After making the Olympic team, Skinner announced she was turning pro and would not compete in her senior year at Utah, though she will return to Salt Lake City to complete her degree. She will go down in history as one of the most successful Utes ever. Among her accolades are two national championship titles on floor (2017) and vault (2018) and three perfect 10.0s on floor. She will also be remembered for competing some of the most difficult gymnastics ever performed in the NCAA, including a Yurchenko double on vault, a double tuck dismount on beam and a Silivas mount and a full-in dismount on floor.

Skinner will compete in qualification in subdivision 3 on July 25 at 2:10 a.m. EST.

Tan Sze En

Country: Singapore
NCAA Team: Stanford
Graduation Year: 2024
Best event: bars and beam
Journey to the Olympics: Tan qualified to the Olympics at 2019 worlds, her first world championship appearance. She also competed at two world cups in 2016 and 2019, as well as at the Asian Games in 2018.
What to Expect in Tokyo: It would be an impressive result if Tan managed to qualify to the all around final. Her main goal, though, will be to have a great performance on all four events in qualification. Tan took a piece of Stanford with her to the Olympics, as Cardinal head coach Tabitha Yim is serving as her coach.
How She Is Doing in College: Stanford had an extremely disrupted 2021 season, so Tan had the chance to compete only a couple of times on beam. It was a valuable experience she’ll make use of next year.

Tan will compete in qualification in subdivision 1 on July 24 at 8:30 p.m. EST.

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Article by Talitha Ilacqua

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