Nine NCAA-affiliated gymnasts moved on to the individual finals at the 2024 Olympic Games after the qualifying round.
For Team USA, which will enter the team final in first place, former Auburn gymnast and reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee will join Simone Biles in the all-around final. Lee also qualified on bars and beam. Oregon State rising senior Jade Carey overcame illness and an off floor performance to qualify to her second consecutive vault final. UCLA rising junior Jordan Chiles qualified to the floor final. First-year senior Hezly Rivera, a five-star recruit in the class of 2026, contributed to the team on bars and beam.
Canada qualified in sixth place for the team final. Alongside veteran Ellie Black, Iowa’s Aurélie Tran and Minnesota’s Ava Stewart, both incoming freshmen, competed in the all-around, Iowa’s incoming freshman Cassie Lee on bars, beam, and floor, and Alabama alumna Shallon Olsen on vault. Olsen qualified to her third consecutive vault final, and Stewart made the all-around final.
Michigan State commit Lilia Cosman competed in the all-around to help Romania to qualify to the team final. It was an impressive result for a team that failed to qualify to the Olympics as a team both in Rio and in Tokyo.
Alabama alumna Luisa Blanco became the first Colombian woman to qualify to the all-around final. Aleah Finnegan (LSU), Emma Malabuyo (UCLA), and Levi Jung-Ruivivar (Stanford) all competed for the Philippines while Lynnzee Brown (Denver) competed for Haiti. None advanced to the finals, but all had solid performances to close out their Olympics.
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Article by Talitha Ilacqua
