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Why Isn't Gymnast Jordan Chiles Competing in the Olympic All-Around Final?
Let's go, Team U.S.A.!
The 2024 Paris Olympics are officially underway, and everyone is turning their heads to one of the most anticipated sports in the games. Fans are anxiously waiting to see the U.S. women's gymnastics team attempt to medal in individual events that play to the competitors' strengths.
While Team U.S.A. advanced to the finals of the women's gymnastics team event (July 30), folks learned on July 28 that Simone Biles and Suni Lee would make history as the first two Olympic all-around gold medalists to compete in the final. On August 1, Suni (the 2020 gold medalist) and Simone (the 2016 champion) will both vie for the 2024 title.
The rest of the U.S. gymnastics team (Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera) celebrated their teammates' successes on Instagram. "OLYMPIC FINALS BOUND 👏," read the caption. "The women of @usagym moving on to finals at the #ParisOlympics ⏩."
While it's thrilling to see Suni and Simone compete for the top all-around spot, some folks are confused about why Jordan Chiles is not competing in the all-around final at the 2024 Olympics.
According to an article on Bleacher Report, Jordan's overall score in the women's team gymnastics qualifying event on July 28 was 56.065. This made her #4 in the women's all-around qualifications, but it was.o67 behind her teammate Suni's score of 56.132, meaning Jordan will not participate in the individual finals. While it may seem unfair, Team U.S.A.'s official website explained the reason.
According to the organization, there is an Olympic rule that limits each country to only two athletes allowed to compete in the individual final. Because Jordan's score was slightly lower than Suni's, Suni scored the second spot for the U.S. alongside Simone. What's more, this rule will also prevent Jordan from competing in the vault event, as Jade's score was higher.
"We knew it was going to be a battle going in," said USA Gymnastics technical lead Chellsie Memmel. "It really was, you know, back and forth throughout the day. It just happened to be that today was Suni’s day. I know that they're all still going to come together and support each other. But I know it's going to sting and it’s going to take time, and that’s okay."
Despite not competing in the all-around, Jordan's run at the Olympics isn't over. She'll be competing in the floor event on August 5, meaning there's still a chance for her to medal again. And as of Tuesday, Jordan already has a gold medal under her belt along with the rest of team USA.
No matter the case, we love seeing Jordan do what she does best!
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